Recognizing obsessive-compulsive disorder: how suitable is the German Zohar-Fineberg obsessive-compulsive screen?

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychometrics
• Mental Health Screening

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) diagnosis is challenging.
• The Zohar-Fineberg Obsessive-Compulsive Screen (ZF-OCS) is a brief, English-language screening tool.
• Empirical studies on the ZF-OCS are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• Translate the ZF-OCS into German.
• Investigate the psychometric properties of the German ZF-OCS in a nonclinical sample.

Main Methods:

• Two online surveys administered to students (N=304 and N=51).
• Participants completed the German ZF-OCS and established measures for OCD, depression, anxiety, and well-being.
• Internal consistency, retest reliability, and convergent/divergent validity were assessed.

Main Results:

• Retest reliability at two weeks was high (r=0.89).
• Convergent validity was strong, with high correlations to other OCD instruments (r > 0.61).
• Divergent validity showed weaker correlations with depression, health anxiety, and well-being, but moderate correlation with general anxiety (r=0.52). Internal consistency was low (α=0.53-0.72).

Conclusions:

• The German ZF-OCS demonstrates good retest reliability and validity, suggesting its utility for screening OCD.
• Low internal consistency may be due to the heterogeneity of OCD subtypes.
• The instrument is short, easy to administer, and can facilitate further clinical evaluation, though diagnostic accuracy requires further study.