The psychosocial and educational burden of obsessive-compulsive disorder in youth

Pediatric OCD is associated with functional impairment in multiple environments. However, relatively little is known about the impact of comorbid conditions, as well as OCD severity on psychosocial functioning in this population. Furthermore, most studies did not include a control sample, nor examined differences between children and adolescents. The goal of this investigation was to assess psychosocial functioning and its associations with age, symptom severity, and comorbid conditions in a large well characterized sample of pediatric OCD probands, and controls.

Participants included 117 pediatric OCD probands and 147 controls, that underwent a careful diagnostic process, and completed several questionnaires and interviews.

Results revealed significant psychosocial impairments across multiple domains/settings, some of which were affected by symptom severity as well as by conduct related comorbidities and to a lesser extent affective disorders. In addition, different aspects of psychosocial impairments were found between children and adolescents.

This study provides high resolution information regarding the types and extent of psychosocial dysfunction in youth with OCD, as well as its relationship with clinical and diagnostic correlates. It is recommended that evaluation and management of OCD in youth in research and clinical settings regularly include qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment of function across these domains.