Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a leading cause of health-related disability. There are two evidence-based treatments for OCD, pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy consisting of exposure and response prevention (EX/RP). Although effective, outcome from both treatments is often limited by patient lack of adherence to the…

This book clearly explains what Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) are, and describes the symptoms of conditions most commonly encountered in the mainstream classroom: dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and OCD. The author provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses commonly associated with…

Objective: Rage attacks have been documented in youth with varied psychiatric disorders, but few data have been reported on the clinical characteristics and correlates of rage attacks among children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Participants were 86 children (ages 6-16 years) with a primary diagnosis of OCD. Patients and their…

Objective: To examine the effects of patient adherence on outcome from exposure and response prevention (EX/RP) therapy in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Thirty adults with OCD were randomized to EX/RP (n = 15) or EX/RP augmented by motivational interviewing strategies (n = 15). Both treatments included 3 introductory…

Background: There is emerging evidence that early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be a phenomenologically distinct subtype of the disorder. Previous research has shown that individuals who report an early onset display greater severity and persistence of symptoms, and they may be less responsive to treatment. To date, this question…

A burgeoning body of literature addresses the comorbidity of depression and OCD in adults. The purpose of this study was to extend this area of research to children and adolescents by examining the clinical correlates associated with co-occurring depressive disorders in a clinical sample of youth with OCD. Participants included children and…

The nature of obsessions has led researchers to try to determine if the main problem in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is impaired inhibitory control. Previous studies report that the effort to suppress is one of the factors that increase the frequency of obsessive thoughts. Based on these results and those of the present study that suggest…

Objective: Deficits in cognitive flexibility and response inhibition have been linked to perturbations in cortico-striatal-thalamic circuitry in adult obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although similar cognitive deficits have been identified in pediatric OCD, few neuroimaging studies have been conducted to examine its neural correlates in the…

The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) is the instrument of choice for assessing symptom severity in older children (i.e., 8-18 years) diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The reliability and validity of this measure for use among younger children (i.e., 5-8 years of age), however, has never been examined.…

Objective: To examine the efficacy of exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) plus a structured family intervention (FCBT) versus psychoeducation plus relaxation training (PRT) for reducing symptom severity, functional impairment, and family accommodation in youths with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: A total of 71…

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neurobiological condition affecting 1 of every 200 school-age children. OCD greatly affects students' academic, behavioral, and social functioning, and it can lead to additional problem such as depression. To effectively collaborate with other individuals providing appropriate support to students with OCD,…

The present study aimed to assess the phenomenology and treatment sensitivity of insight, avoidance, indecisiveness, overvalued responsibility, pervasive slowness, and pathological doubting among youth with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using the ancillary items on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). These factors…

Objective: Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by abnormalities of frontal-striatal-thalamic circuitry that appear near illness onset and persist over its course. Distinct frontal-striatal-thalamic loops through cortical centers for cognitive control (anterior cingulate cortex) and emotion processing (ventral medial frontal…

Depression is the most common comorbidity among adults with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), yet little is known about depressive symptoms in childhood OCD. This study examined clinical and cognitive variables associated with depressive symptomatology in 71 youths (62% male, M age = 12.7 years) with primary OCD. Youths presented with a range…

Objective: To identify predictors and moderators of outcome in the first Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS I) among youth (N = 112) randomly assigned to sertraline, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), both sertraline and CBT (COMB), or a pill placebo. Method: Potential baseline predictors and moderators were identified by literature review. The…