Quantitative and qualitative aspects of obsessive-compulsive behaviour in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder compared with tic disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Within the framework of associated psychopathology in child psychiatric disorders, this study focused on quantitative and qualitative aspects of obsessive-compulsive behaviour (OCB) in both attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and chronic tic disorder/Tourette's disorder (TD).


METHODS
Forty-two healthy controls, 41 children with ADHD and 38 children with TD, aged 9-13 years, were investigated using the Leyton Obsessional Inventory--Child Version (LOI-CV), the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and an expert-rated structured parent interview to reflect a cross-informant view of OCB.


RESULTS
Unexpectedly, self-reports of children with ADHD rather than children with TD showed the highest OCB scores in the LOI-CV. Qualitatively, ADHD-related OCB focused on the item subsets concerning 'dirt and contamination', 'repetition', 'overconscientiousness', and 'hoarding'. In the parent-rated CBCL, similar levels of OCB were reported for ADHD and TD patients. In contrast, only children with TD showed clinically relevant OCB according to expert ratings.


CONCLUSIONS
Not only young TD patients but also children with ADHD should be investigated and monitored carefully for quantitative and qualitative aspects of OCB comorbidity.
Moll
G H
GH
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göttingen, Germany.
Eysenbach
K
K
Woerner
W
W
Banaschewski
T
T
Schmidt
M H
MH
Rothenberger
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000150:complications*