Abstract

BackgroundPeople with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have faced unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research from the first two months of the pandemic suggests that a small proportion of people with OCD experienced worsening in their OCD symptoms since the pandemic began, whereas the rest experienced either no change or an improvement in their symptoms. However, as society-level factors relating to the pandemic have evolved, the effects of the pandemic on people with OCD have likely changed as well, in complex and population-specific ways. Therefore, this study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people and demonstrates how differences across studies might emerge when studying specific populations at specific timepoints.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess how members of online OCD support communities felt the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their OCD symptoms, around 3 months after the pandemic began.MethodsWe recruited participants from online OCD support communities for our brief survey. Participants indicated how much they felt their OCD symptoms had changed since the pandemic began and how much they felt that having OCD was making it harder to deal with the pandemic.ResultsWe collected survey data from June through August 2020 and received a total of 196 responses, some of which were partial responses. Among the nonmissing data, 65.9% (108/164) of the participants were from the United States and 90.5% (152/168) had been subjected to a stay-at-home order. In all, 92.9% (182/196) of the participants said they experienced worsening of their OCD symptoms since the pandemic began, although the extent to which their symptoms worsened differed across dimensions of OCD; notably, symmetry and completeness symptoms were less likely to have worsened than others. Moreover, 95.5% (171/179) of the participants felt that having OCD made it difficult to deal with the pandemic.ConclusionsOur study of online OCD support community members found a much higher rate of OCD symptom worsening than did other studies on people with OCD conducted during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Factors such as quarantine length, location, overlapping society-level challenges, and differing measurement and sampling choices may help to explain this difference across studies.

Highlights

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has led to population-level decreases in psychological well-being globally [1]

  • 92.9% (182/196) of the participants said they experienced worsening of their obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms since the pandemic began, the extent to which their symptoms worsened differed across dimensions of OCD; notably, symmetry and completeness symptoms were less likely to have worsened than others

  • 95.5% (171/179) of the participants felt that having OCD made it difficult to deal with the pandemic

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Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to population-level decreases in psychological well-being globally [1]. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may experience distinct pandemic-related stressors compared to the general population. Research across various populations and timepoints is needed to learn how people with OCD have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. Online support communities may provide some unique advantages to traditional forms of support, including anonymity and use of access, which may enable greater self-disclosure and social support [3]. These communities may be especially helpful in a pandemic context, wherein many in-person support sources may be lacking. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have faced unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people and demonstrates how differences across studies might emerge when studying specific populations at specific timepoints

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