Cognitive appraisals and quality of life in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder

Abstract

In a cross sectional study, we examined the contribution of cognitive appraisals to the quality of life (QOL) in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Thirty one patients with the DSMIV diagnosis of OCD and 30 normal volunteers from community completed the Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory-31 (III-31), the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Patients scored higher than the normal controls on ‘inflated personal responsibility’, ‘thought control’, and ‘importance of thoughts’. Patients' QOL were poorer than that of normal controls. Cognitive appraisals of ‘thought control’ (r=−0.56, p<0.01), ‘importance of thoughts’ (r=−0.49, p<0.01), and ‘inflated responsibility’ (r=−0.62, p<0.01) correlated negatively with the psychological domain of QOL after controlling for the duration of illness and the severity of depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Total QOL correlated negatively with ‘thought control’ and ‘inflated personal responsibility’. Our findings suggest that cognitive appraisals contribute significantly to the poor QOL in patients with OCD. Therefore, modification of beliefs and appraisals may be essential for better QOL in patients with OCD.