Assessing obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a subclinical and clinical sample: the development of the Hungarian...

The prevalence of clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is around 1-2% in the population. Questionnaires, such as the OCI-R, are a useful tool in the diagnositc process. The purpose of this study was to develop the Hungarian version of the OCI-R, examine its validity and reliability, and its ability to differentiate between clinical and subclinical OCD.

Confirmatiory factor analysis was carried out on the subclinical sample (N = 4301). Reliability analysis was carried out on both samples, and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare the two samples.

The six-factor structure identical to the original was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. In the subclinical sample, all scales but Neutralizing had good reliability. Reliability analysis on the clinical sample (N = 26) showed good Cronbach's alpha values for all scales except for Hoarding. There were significant differences between the two groups on three scales: Neutralizing, Washing, and Obsessing, with the clinical group scoring significantly higher on these scales. The average score for Checking, Hoarding, and Ordering was higher in the subclinical sample, although the difference was not significant.

The results highlight the advantages of symptom severity scales, such as the OCI-R, in the diagnostic process of obsessive-compulsive disorder. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2024; 26(3): 144-152)