Personal Control, Social Problem-Solving and Social Adjustment in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Melanie Aubut,Claude Belanger

doi:10.4172/2471-9900.1000156

Abstract

Different studies conducted among obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients explain the relevance of investigating social adjustment impairments due to its pervasiveness in a patient’s occupational, recreational and/or interpersonal functioning. Upon careful examination of the social adjustment contributing factors, both personal control and social problem-solving were identified as variables that influence the adjustment capacities in different clinical groups. Nevertheless, few studies have examined these variables among OCD patients. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the aforementioned factors in an OCD sample group (n=128) and a control group (n=235). The results showed that OCD patients exhibited more of an external locus of control than did the control group. OCD patients also demonstrated a significant impairment in overall social problem-solving skills compared to their control counterparts. Moreover, a negative problem orientation itself has been found to mediate the relationship between the locus of control and social adjustment. Overall, these results convey the importance of social problem-solving in understanding altered social functioning among OCD patients.

Highlights

The clinical picture of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions [1] and functional alterations that are observable in all areas of life [2]
The average age of the participants in the OCD group, which was mainly composed of women (72%), is 39.77 years (SD 12.48); 52% are living in a common-law relationship or are married, 11% are separated or divorced, 36% are single and 1% widowed
The control group was mainly composed of women (76%), which is similar to the OCD sample

Summary

Introduction

The clinical picture of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions [1] and functional alterations that are observable in all areas of life [2]. Our on-going research on these individuals’ social adjustment, i.e., their ability to adapt to their social roles and to obtain satisfaction from them [12], has confirmed the importance of observed adjustment difficulties and their generalization to all areas of functioning. Factors that explain these social adjustment difficulties observed in individuals with OCD have yet to be specified. Efforts to improve our understanding of these difficulties have identified two variables associated with individuals’ social adjustment abilities and the presence of clinical disorders such as OCD: personal control (PC) and social problem-solving (SPS)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion