[Developmental psychopathological characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder]

According to the currently available research data obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)is a disorder of multifactorial etiology, the causes of which include biological, genetic and environmental-social factors alike. Based on an etiology of that kind, it is justifiable to conduct a developmental psychopathological review of OCD, which may lead, through an exploration of the different factors involved, to a deeper understanding of the disorder's overall nature and specific characteristics, as well as to the development of the most efficient therapies possible. The main objective of the present comprehensive study is the developmental psychopathological analysis of the OCD, including the review of the evolutionary approaches and genetic and environmental factors, as well as an exploration of OCD's age-specific forms of manifestation, based on the recent research results and analyses available in the professional literature. According to our present knowledge, the genetic linkage of early-onset OCD is greater than that of the late-onset variant, as the onset of the syndrome can be attributed to genetic factors to the extent of 40-60%, coupled with the contribution of environmental factors like perinatal disorders, reproductive cycle, childhood infections, familial circumstances, age of the parents and traumatic life events. Evolutionary theories address OCD from a functional perspective. They strive to attribute it primarily to individual or group selection theories that a quite heterogeneous OCD syndrome, which is therapeutically difficult to change, remains to present itself with close to identical, invariably high prevalence in all cultures despite the difficulties. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is present in all ages, and it is often difficult to determine whether we are faced with a healthy or a pathological behavior, as certain obsessive phenomena may appear as part of normal development. The analysis of OCD's etiology, a better understanding of the respective function of specific symptoms, a thorough exploration of age-specific variants of the disorder, i.e. a developmental psychopathological analysis of OCD, is of key importance from diagnostic, therapeutic and vocational rehabilitation aspects alike.