Obsessive compulsive disorder in adolescence: an epidemiological study

MF Flament, A Whitaker, JL Rapoport, M Davies… - Journal of the American …, 1988 - Elsevier
MF Flament, A Whitaker, JL Rapoport, M Davies, CZ Berg, K Kalikow, W Sceery, D Shaffer
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1988Elsevier
In the second part of a two-stage epidemiologic study of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in
nonreferred adolescents, clinicians interviewed high school students selected from
screening measures administered in the first stage. Of the 356 students interviewed, 93
scored above clinically derived thresholds on the 20-item Leyton Obsessional Inventory-
Child Version, 188 scored below the clinical threshold but positively on at least one other
screen for psychopathology, and 75 scored negatively on all screens. The Leyton inventory …
Abstract
In the second part of a two-stage epidemiologic study of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in nonreferred adolescents, clinicians interviewed high school students selected from screening measures administered in the first stage. Of the 356 students interviewed, 93 scored above clinically derived thresholds on the 20-item Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version, 188 scored below the clinical threshold but positively on at least one other screen for psychopathology, and 75 scored negatively on all screens. The Leyton inventory had a sensitivity of 75%, a specificity of 84%, and a predictive value of 18% as a screen for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The OCD cases identified had characteristics similar to those of clinical cases, except for the nonpredominance of males. There was a high frequency of associated disorders, but only four of the 18 cases had been under professional care. OCD is much more common during adolescence than has been previously thought; it is both underdiagnosed and undertreated.
Elsevier