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Signal Attenuation as a Rat Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Published on: January 9, 2015
Psychotic Vulnerability in Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: First Longitudinal Evidence From a
Davide Fausto Borrelli1,2, Luca Gambolò1,2, Anna Di Donna1,2
1Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have an 18.6% risk of developing psychosis within 18 months. Cognitive-Perceptual basic symptoms (COPER) and poor psychosocial functioning are key predictors of this progression.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Psychopathology
Background:
- Childhood-onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is linked to increased psychosis vulnerability.
- No prior prospective studies have quantified this risk in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively investigate the risk of developing a first episode of psychosis (FEP) in adolescents with OCD.
- To identify baseline predictors of psychosis onset in this cohort.
Main Methods:
- A pilot prospective study followed 59 adolescents diagnosed with OCD for 18 months.
- Psychotic vulnerability was assessed using Cognitive-Perceptual basic symptoms (COPER) and Cognitive Disturbances (COGDIS).
- OCD severity and psychosocial functioning were evaluated; logistic regression analyzed FEP predictors.
Main Results:
- 18.6% of participants experienced a FEP during the 18-month follow-up.
- Older age and poorer psychosocial functioning were associated with FEP.
- Higher COPER symptoms and lower psychosocial functioning significantly predicted FEP.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents with OCD show a significant rate of progression to psychosis over 18 months.
- Cognitive-Perceptual basic symptoms (COPER) and impaired psychosocial functioning are preliminary risk factors for psychosis in this group.
- Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore intervention strategies.
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