Identification of cues associated with compulsive, bulimic, and hair-pulling symptoms

Subjects with obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa, or trichotillomania selected cues which elicited or worsened their symptoms from a 339 item list. Principal components analysis suggested a four-component solution. Each disorder was significantly associated with one of these components. Diagnostic assignment based on component scores yielded 85% correct classification. The diagnostic groups did not differ on a negative feeling state component. The results indicate that both disorder-specific and generic components exist. This approach has potential for defining clinical subtypes, studying the interaction of feeling states and environmental cues in evoking symptoms, and designing treatment strategies.