Does the SCL 90-R obsessive-compulsive dimension identify cognitive impairments?

To investigate the relevance of the Symptom Checklist 90-R Obsessive-Compulsive subscale to cognition in individuals with brain tumor.

A prospective study of patients assessed with a neuropsychological test battery.

A university medical center.

Nineteen adults with biopsy-confirmed diagnoses of malignant brain tumors were assessed prior to aggressive chemotherapy.

Included in the assessment were the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, California Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test B, Symptom Checklist 90-R, Mood Assessment Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Chronic Illness Problem Inventory.

The SCL 90-R Obsessive-Compulsive subscale was not related to objective measures of attention, verbal memory, or age. It was related significantly to symptoms of depression (r = .81, P < .005), anxiety (r = .66, P < .005), and subjective complaints of memory problems (r = .75, P < .005). Multivariate analyses indicated that reported symptoms of depression contributed 66% of the variance in predicting SCL 90-R Obsessive-Compulsive Scores, whereas symptoms of anxiety contributed an additional 6% (P < .0001).

Our data suggest that the SCL 90-R is best viewed as an indicator of unidimensional emotional distress and somatic effects of structural brain injury.