Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory Research Articles

Evaluation of Internet Addiction and Relational Variables Among Nursing Students in Turkey During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It is known that individuals use the internet more to escape from the psychological problems they encounter in daily life during the pandemic. Besides, it is also known that individuals with personality traits such as neuroticism and extraversion might be prone to internet addiction due to poor communication skills. It is important to determine the relationship between the internet usage characteristics and the mental state of nursing students so that students can provide better quality health services in their education and professional processes. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between internet addiction and personality traits, stress, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms among nursing students during the pandemic. This study includes 528 nursing students. The Young's Internet Addiction Test (YIAT), the Vancouver Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used for data collection between August and October 2021. It was found that there was a statistically significant and positive correlation between the students' YIAT mean scores and the EPI neuroticism sub-dimension, VOCI all sub-dimensions, and PSS mean scores (p < .05). In addition, the mean scores of the PSS and EPI were predictors of the YIAT total score (R = .550, R2 = .233, p < .05). Considering these results, it is necessary to prevent the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial health of individuals. Psychological counseling can be offered to provide protective factors during the pandemic period.

Psychometric evaluation and factor analysis of the Iranian version of the Fear of Guilt Scale (FOGS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Introduction: Fear of guilt is a characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which confirms the centrality of guilt in obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Aim: This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Iranian adaptation of the Fear of Guilt Scale. Method: This study was applied and developmental in terms of aim and psychometric type,respectively. The population included all the people of the three company in Tehran, Iran, in the year 2022 from which 520 adults, were selected by availabile sampling. The Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (2004) and the Fear of Guilt Scale (2016) were used to collect the data. Besides, mean, standard deviation (SD), exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity and construct validity, SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 24 were run to analyze the data. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the existence of two factors: "punishment" and "prevention of harm." The scale demonstrated favorable convergent validity. Concerning scale reliability, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated at 0.90 for the entire scale, 0.88 for the "punishment" subscale, and 0.75 for the "prevention of harm" subscale which revealed the convergent and construct validity of this questionnaire. Conclusion: This study confirms the psychometric properties of the Fear of Guilt Scale in terms of evaluating the features of fear of guilt in obsessive-compulsive disorder .Future researches can use this tool for the purposes of evaluating and investigating the fear of guilt in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Fear of Self Questionnaire.

The aim of the study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the 20-item Fear of Self Questionnaire (FSQ) in Iranian samples. A cross-sectional, descriptive survey design was used. Students in universities of Tehran were invited to participate. Participants were asked to complete the Persian versions of the FSQ, Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Ego Strength Scale (ESS), and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RES). Face, content, and construct validity, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), and test-retest reliability of the FSQ were assessed. Face and content validity of the FSQ were confirmed. Analysis of the principal components using the inclined rotation method showed that there were two factors with an eigenvalue >1, which explained 80.5% of the total variance. The first factor had 12 items and the second factor had 8 items. The internal consistency was 0.975, 0.981, and 0.941 for the total score and the first and second factor, respectively, whereas the test-retest reliability was 0.732, 0.729, and 0.714, respectively (all p ≤ 0.01). For convergent validity of the FSQ, correlations of the total score and the two factors of the FSQ with the scores of VOCI, RES, ESS, and DASS-21 were all significant (p ≤ 0.01). The FSQ can be used in Iranian samples for clinical practice and research.

Validation of a French version of the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory–Mental Contamination scale (VOCI-MC) and the Contamination Thought–Action Fusion scale (CTAF) in non-clinical and clinical samples

The Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory-Mental Contamination scale (VOCI-MC) and the Contamination Thought-Action Fusion scale (CTAF) are two self-report instruments that assess symptoms of mental contamination and fusion between thoughts, and feelings and behaviours associated with contamination, respectively. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the French version of these two scales in non-clinical and clinical samples. We included 79 participants diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 31 diagnosed with anxiety disorders, who were recruited from the University Department of Adult Psychiatry in Montpellier, and 320 non-clinical participants recruited from the general population. Psychometric properties of the French VOCI-MC and CTAF were investigated. Results showed that the French versions of the VOCI-MC and the CTAF had high internal consistency, good convergent and divergent validity, as well as good temporal stability. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a one-factor structure for the two scales in both non-clinical and OCD samples. Adequate discriminative validity was established by comparing OCD patients with contamination-related symptoms and OCD patients who did not report contamination-related symptoms. The French VOCI-MC and CTAF are valid and appropriate tools for measuring mental contamination in both clinical and research contexts.

Comparison between emerging adults and adults in terms of contamination fear, post-COVID-19 PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity.

The present study compared Chinese emerging adults and adults regarding the association between contamination fear, posttraumatic stress disorder post-COVID-19 and psychiatric comorbidity after controlling for demographic and trauma exposure variables. 1089 Chinese civilians (M = 382; F = 707) with a mean age of 26 years (M = 26.36, SD = 8.58) were recruited from different provinces in China via an online survey posted on mainstream Chinese social networking platforms. They completed a demographic page with questions on trauma exposure, the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 and the General Health Questionnaire-28. Results showed that 12.7%, 68.7% and 18.6% met criteria for full, partial and no PTSD, respectively. Emerging adults reported significantly lower levels of symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance, somatic problems, anxiety and fear of contamination than adults. In both emerging adults and adults, contamination fear was correlated with PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity. High educational attainment was significantly correlated with psychiatric comorbidity in emerging adults, but with PTSD in adults. Length of quarantine was correlated with psychiatric comorbidity only in adults. In conclusion, both emerging adults and adults developed varying levels of contamination fear, posttraumatic stress and general psychological symptoms following the outbreak of COVID-19. Emerging adults were more resilient than adults in coping with distress.

OCD, death anxiety, and attachment: what's love got to do with it?

Death anxiety has been empirically implicated in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Research has shown that secure attachments appear to protect against fear of death, and are also associated with reduced risk of mental illness. However, few studies have investigated the moderating effect of attachment style in the relationship between death anxiety and OCD. The present study sought to explore whether attachment style moderates the relationship between death anxiety and OCD symptoms among a treatment-seeking sample of individuals diagnosed with OCD. Following a structured diagnostic interview, a number of measures were administered to 48 participants. These included the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale, Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, and Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. As expected, death anxiety was a strong predictor of OCD severity, and other markers of psychopathology. However, contrary to hypotheses, neither anxious nor avoidant attachment style moderated the association between fear of death and OCD severity. The current findings add further support to the role of death anxiety in OCD. Given the absence of a moderating effect of attachment between death fears and OCD severity, it is possible that this proposed buffer against death anxiety may potentially be insufficient in the presence of this disorder. Further research is needed to clarify whether attachment style may moderate the relationship between death anxiety and symptom severity in other disorders.

Cognitive Confidence and Inferential Confusion in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Differences Across Subtypes

A lack of cognitive confidence (CC), defined as a distrust of one’s attention, perception, and memory, has been implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and could account for its core symptoms. The early research focus has been on CC in the context of checking OCD, yet research suggests that the construct may also apply to other OCD subtypes. A closely intertwined construct also implicated in OCD is inferential confusion (IC), whereby a distrust of the senses leads to an investment in imaginary possibilities. This study aimed to simultaneously examine these constructs across OCD subtypes. A total of 128 participants with OCD completed a measure of CC (MCQ-65; Metacognitions Questionnaire), IC (ICQ-EV; Inferential Confusion Questionnaire), and OCD symptoms (VOCI; Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory). TwoStep cluster analyses for CC revealed two clusters: (1) low CC/high checking/higher OCD symptoms and (2) high CC/low checking/lower OCD symptoms. The analyses for IC resulted in three clusters: (1) average IC/high “just right”/high contamination/low obsessionality, (2) high IC/ high “just right”/high obsessionality, and (3) low IC/low obsessionality/low checking. Results are discussed in terms of the heterogeneity of OCD, which highlight the need to tailor research paradigms and treatment targets to different OCD presentations.

Subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder and their relationship to death anxiety

Recent theoretical and empirical research has demonstrated a relationship between death anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a focus on compulsive washing. However, no study has examined whether death anxiety plays an important role across various symptom domains of OCD. The present studies explored the relationship between death anxiety and OCD subtypes across two independent samples of treatment-seeking individuals with this disorder. In Study 1, results from 79 participants demonstrated significant correlations between the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale and each Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) subscale. In Study 2, these results were largely replicated using the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale in a larger sample of 132 participants. Lastly, results from integrating the samples indicated that the strength of these relationships, although substantial for all types, varied slightly across the subtypes of OCD. Taken together, the findings demonstrate a strong relationship between death anxiety and the differing forms of OCD. Clinical implications include the possibility that fears of death may need to be directly addressed in order to produce long-term symptom amelioration. However, further research is needed to establish the potential causal role of death anxiety across different OCD subtypes.

The Mediational Roles of Law of Contagion and Threat Estimations in the Relation Between Disgust and Contamination-based OCD Symptoms

Objectives: The law of contagion is one of the sympathetic of magic principles and is a cognitive distortion related to disgust. To explain how disgust can lead to contamination Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms, this study assumes that the emotion of disgust can activate the law of contagion, which in turn may motivate threat estimations that finally results in OCD symptoms. Methods: This study has a correlational research design. Participants were 495 students (59% women) from Olum Tahghighat University that recruited through convenience sampling. All the participants completed all the questionnaires in the same order: Threat estimation scenarios, the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory Contamination Scale (VOCI-C), negative-spiritual contagion subscale from Contagion Sensitivity Scale (CSS), and core disgust subscale from Disgust Scale (DS). This model was examined through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results: The finding revealed that the proposed model had a good fit based on reported indices: χ2, CMIN/DF, GFI, CFI, AGFI, RMSEA. Conclusion: There are mediational roles for the law of contagion and threat estimations in the relation between disgust and OCD symptoms. The proposed psychopathological model can help to promote the disgust theory in OCD and may have implications for cognitive behavioral therapy.

Association Between Alexithymia and Immature Coping Styles Is Mediated by Self-Inconsistency and Is Correlated to Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

This study aimed to investigate whether a multivariate association between alexithymia and coping styles is affected by self-inconsistency and whether the association contributed to obsessive-compulsive symptoms in 34 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and 53 healthy participants. Alexithymia, coping styles, self-inconsistency, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were evaluated using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, the Coping Style Questionnaire, the Self-Consistency and Congruence Scale, and the Vancouver Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, respectively. We found that self-inconsistency partially mediated the association between alexithymia and immature coping styles in the OCD patients but fully mediated the association in the healthy participants. Moreover, in the two groups, the alexithymia-coping coupling was related to contamination, obsession, indecisiveness, and ritualization, but not the checking symptom dimension. The findings suggest that the disturbance in identifying and describing feelings is associated with immature coping styles through disharmony between self-recognition and experience. The mechanism of the checking symptom seems to be distinct from other obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Psychometric evaluation of the Vancouver Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) and its adaptation based on the DSM-5 in Iranian patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

abstract The Vancouver Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) was validated in Iranian non-clinical individuals, but not in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Accordingly, this study aims to further evaluate the six-factor first-order and one-factor second-order structures, validity, and reliability of the scale and also to adapt this scale to the DSM-5 recommendations regarding hoarding behavior in Iranian OCD patients. Three hundred and sixty patients completed the VOCI, the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale checklist (Y-BOCS), the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R); the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ-SF), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results showed that the six-factor first-order model of the VOCI had acceptable fit, while the five-factor first-order model had more appropriate fit by deleting the hoarding subscale's items. Also, one-factor second-order structure of the scale has been found to have an adequate fit. In addition, reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the VOCI have been found to be good. The findings indicate that although the VOCI with the six-factor first-order and one-factor second-order structures is a valid scale in Iranian OCD patients, the VOCI adapted to the DSM-5 is more reliable to be used in Iranian community.

The Persian version of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (P-DOCS): A psychometric evaluation

The Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) is a self-report measure of the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) along with four dimensions. The aim of this study was to assess the factor structure, reliability and validity of the Persian version of the DOCS (P-OCDS) among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A total of 764 outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD completed the P-DOCS, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Vancouver Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Short Form (PSWQ-SF), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Similar to the original version of the DOCS, results showed that the P-DOCS had a four-factor structure. Also, the P-DOCS showed good reliability through calculating McDonald's Omega and test-retest. In addition, convergent and discriminant validity of the P-DOCS was confirmed through its strong and weak correlations with other OCD measures and measures of global psychological distress respectively. Findings indicate that the DOCS is a reliable scale to use in Iranian clinical samples with OCD.

Alexithymia, Ego-Dystonicity, and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A Path Modeling Analysis

Aims: This cross-sectional study aimed to test the path relations between alexithymia, ego-dystonicity, anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy individuals. Methods: Fifty-eight patients with OCD (mean age 35.5 years) and 54 healthy participants (mean age 33.5 years) completed an assessment via a structured clinical interview. All of them completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Vancouver Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), the Self-Consistency and Congruence Scale (SCCS), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: In the OCD patients, alexithymia (a linear combination of difficulty identifying and describing emotions in the self) was associated with the OC symptoms either with or without the presence of ego-dystonicity (a profile of self-inconsistency and self-stereotype). In the heathy participants, alexithymia was associated with the OC symptoms only through ego-dystonic experiences. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that ego-dystonicity partially affects the association between alexithymia and obsessive-compulsions. Alexithymia and ego-dystonicity have a synergistic effect on the symptoms of OCD. Alexithymia in healthy participants associates to the OC symptoms only through ego-dystonicity. Targeting ego-dystonicity dimensions in psychotherapy would help improve the symptoms of OCD.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Vancouver Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory Inventory (VOCI) in Iranian Non-Clinical Sample

The Vancouver Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) is a self-report inventory developed to assess a wide range of Obsessive-Compulsive symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate psychometric properties of the Persian version of the VOCI in non-clinical samples. A questionnaire package including the VOCI, BDI-II, BAI, MOCI, OCI-R and PSWQ was administered to volunteer undergraduate students (n = 233, 139 females, 94 males) from two Iran universities (Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Allameh Tabatabaei University). All the assessments were repeated in the same sample after 2 weeks. Psychometric analyses were run to assess reliability and validity of the Persian version of the VOCI. We converged an exploratory factor analysis to test the factor structure. The VOCI-Persian had good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and divergent validity. The present study showed that the factor structure of the questionnaire consisted of five main factors: VOCI Contamination, Checking, Obsessions, Hoarding and Perfectionism/Indecisiveness. Further studies are needed to develop psychometric tools with stronger diagnostic performance for OCD assessment.

The familiality of specific symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

This study aimed to assess whether a family history of specific OCD symptoms was associated with the same OCD symptoms in study participants. Participants were sampled from the Nepean OCD study (N=206) and were assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist (YBOCS-SC) and the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) in order to determine their OCD symptoms. A family history screen was used to determine whether participants had a first-degree relative with a history of any of the following specific symptoms: hoarding, contamination/cleaning, symmetry/ordering, doubt/checking and/or other OCD symptoms. The characteristics of participants with a family history of a specific OCD symptom were compared to those of participants with a family history of any other OCD symptom. This was repeated for each specific OCD symptom. The roles of co-occurring tics and age of onset of OCD were also assessed. Distinct familial associations were detected for the symptoms of hoarding and contamination/cleaning. Age of onset of OCD was significantly younger in participants who reported a family history of “other” symptoms. These findings suggest that certain OCD symptom dimensions are more familial than others, which has significant implications for aetiology of OCD.

Diagnostic Performance of the Turkish Version of the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) Versus Padua Inventory-Revised (PI-R): a Validation Study

Objective: The Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI) is a self-report inventory developed to assess a wide range of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, including contamination (12 items), checking (6 items), obsessions (12 items), hoarding (7 items), just right (12 items), and indecisiveness (6 items). The English version of the VOCI has been shown to be a promising psychometric instrument, as have its French, Italian, and Spanish versions. The aim of this study was to investigate psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the VOCI in clinical and non-clinical samples. Method: A questionnaire package including the VOCI, Padua Inventory-Revised (PI-R), Obsessional Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to volunteer undergraduates (n=365) and patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (n=46). Psychometric analyses were run to assess reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the VOCI. We converged a confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure. We also performed a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine cut-off scores and compared the diagnostic performance of the VOCI and PI-R. Convergent and discriminant validity of the VOCI were assessed through Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients. Internal consistency and temporal reliability were computed. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the original six-factor structure. The maximum likelihood factor loading estimates were higher than 0.40. OCD patients scored significantly higher than control subjects on the contamination, checking, obsessions, things just right, and indecisiveness subscales of the VOCI but not on the hoarding subscale. The global VOCI scores highly correlated with the PI-R (r=0.89); correlation between the contamination subscale of the VOCI and washing subscale of the PI-R was r=0.88; correlation between the checking subscales of both screening tools was r=0.83; correlation between the just right subscale of the VOCI and precision subscale of the PI-R was r=0.71; and correlation between the obsession subscale of the VOCI and rumination subscale of the PI-R was r=0.71. Divergent validity of the VOCI was also high, so that correlations of the total and subscales of the VOCI with the total and subscales of the PI-R were from r=0.25 to a high of r=0.41; therefore, it can be said that the coefficients ranged from weak to moderate. These correlation coefficients were indicative of good convergent and divergent validity. Internal consistency of the VOCI global was 0.97, and that of the VOCI subscales ranged between 0.82 and 0.92 in the overall sample. Cronbach’s Alphas of the VOCI subscales in the OCD group were between 0.73 and 0.88, and in the control group between 0.84 and 0.92. Fifteen-day test-retest intra-correlations for total scores of the VOCI were 0.75; for the subscales they ranged from 0.68 up to 0.88. The ROC analysis demonstrated a moderate diagnostic performance for the VOCI cut-off score of 87.5 with a sensitivity of 0.74 and a specificity of 0.73 immediately comparable to the PI-R cut-off point of 67.5. Conclusion: The VOCI had good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity. It is concluded that the Turkish version of the VOCI has sound psychometric properties. Further studies are needed to develop psychometric tools with stronger diagnostic performance for OCD assessment.

Factor structure and temporal stability of the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory–Mental Contamination Scale (VOCI-MC) and psychometric properties of its Italian version

ObjectiveThe Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory–Mental Contamination Scale (VOCI-MC) is a self-report instrument that assesses symptoms of mental contamination. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the VOCI-MC in non-clinical and clinical samples. MethodFactor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, construct and criterion validity were investigated in 541 participants from the general population, 120 participants diagnosed with OCD and 31 participants diagnosed with other anxiety disorders (OAD). For some of these analyses, our OCD sample was subdivided into those with contamination-related symptoms and concerns (n=39) and those whose OCD excluded concerns related to contamination fear (n=81). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the expected one-factor structure of the VOCI-MC both in non-clinical and OCD sample. ResultsVOCI-MC scores showed good internal consistency, temporal stability, construct validity and criterion validity. In particular, the VOCI-MC successfully discriminated between those with OCD who reported contamination-related concerns and all other groups of participants. ConclusionThese findings suggest that the Italian version of the VOCI-MC retains the adequate psychometric properties of the original, provide preliminary evidence of its one-factor structure and temporal stability, and suggest that it can be confidently used as an assessment tool of mental contamination symptoms in both clinical and research settings.

The nature and assessment of mental contamination: A psychometric analysis

There has been a recent expansion of interest in the concept of mental contamination. Despite a growing number of experiments and interview-based studies of mental contamination, there is a need for questionnaire-based assessment measures, and for a further understanding of the degree to which mental contamination is related to other aspects of OCD symptomatology and/or to established cognitive constructs relevant to OCD. We assessed the psychometric properties of three new measures of mental contamination (the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory—Mental Contamination Scale, the Contamination Sensitivity Scale, and the Contamination Thought-Action Fusion Scale) in participants diagnosed with OCD (n=57), participants diagnosed with an anxiety disorder other than OCD (n=24) and in undergraduate student controls (n=410). For some of these analyses, our OCD sample was subdivided into those with contamination-related symptoms and concerns (n=30) and those whose OCD excluded concerns related to contamination fear (n=27). Results showed that the three new scales had excellent psychometric properties, including internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and discriminant validity. Further, the new measures accounted for significant unique variance in OCD symptoms over and above that accounted for by depression, anxiety, traditional contact-based contamination, and OCD beliefs. Results are discussed in terms of the clinical utility of the scales, and of the nature of contamination fears in OCD.

Further Support for Five Dimensions of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Attempts to explain the phenotypic heterogeneity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have resulted in three to six OCD symptom dimensions. This study aimed to clarify the nature of these symptom dimensions using a self-report instrument (Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory [VOCI]) in addition to the clinician-rated Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Symptom Checklist (YBOCS-SC). Participants (N = 154) were recruited to a study designed to specifically assess OCD symptom dimensions. Symptoms assessed via the YBOCS-SC and the VOCI were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA). Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between the YBOCS-SC-derived symptom dimensions and the VOCI symptom subscales. PCA of the YBOCS-SC and the VOCI revealed five OCD symptom dimensions that explained 68% and 60% of the variance, respectively. The results also supported a distinction between the doubt/checking symptom dimension and the unacceptable/taboo thoughts dimension that includes mental rituals. The YBOCS-SC-derived symptom components were predicted by their respective VOCI symptom subscale scores.

The use of psychotropic agents for the symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder

To describe the use of psychotropic agents in a sample of subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and in particular the differences associated with different OCD symptoms. A total of 154 subjects participated in a study assessing OCD symptom subtypes, called the Nepean OCD Study. In addition to a comprehensive evaluation of the subjects' OCD symptoms using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Vancouver Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), the subjects' medication history was recorded. The association between symptom severity, disability, OCD symptom subtypes and the use of psychotropic agents was examined. Psychotropic medication was taken by 93 (60.4%) participants. In the majority of cases (n=55, 59.1%), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were taken, and of the SSRIs, the most commonly used agent was escitalopram (n=21, 22.6%). Psychotropic agents were more likely to be taken by subjects with higher Y-BOCS and SDS scores. Hoarding was associated with a lower likelihood of psychotropic use, whereas unacceptable/taboo thoughts were associated with an increased likelihood of psychotropic and antipsychotic use. Patients with OCD are more likely to be taking psychotropic agents if they have a more severe illness, greater disability and more prominent unacceptable/taboo thoughts.