title: Obsessive-compulsiveness and impulsivity in a non-clinical population of adolescent males and females.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive and impulsive behaviors co-occur in certain psychiatric conditions. Some have suggested that these disturbances constitute a spectrum of altered psychologies and behaviors that share an underlying neuropathology. We investigate here whether obsessive-compulsiveness and impulsivity reflect related psychological dimensions in a non-clinical adolescent population. Out of 720 high-school students, 672 and 682 completed a questionnaire interview with a Chinese version of the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), respectively. Both MOCI and BIS-11 demonstrated good overall internal consistency, each with three major factors identified with Principal Component Analysis. In the 638 participants who completed both questionnaires, the total MOCI and BIS-11 scores did not correlate with each other. However, the MOCI factor "repetitive checking and attention to details" correlated negatively with the BIS-11 factor "inability to plan and look ahead" for all participants, and for males and females separately. The same MOCI factor also correlated negatively with the BIS-11 factors "lack of perseverance and self-control" and "novelty-seeking and acting without thinking" for all participants, and for females but not for males. The MOCI factor "doubt and intrusive thoughts" correlated positively with the BIS-11 factor "lack of perseverance and self-control" for all participants, and for males but not for females. These results suggested that the relationship between obsessive-compulsiveness and impulsivity as measured by the MOCI and the BIS-11 is complicated, with gender playing an important modulatory role. We discuss the relevance of these findings to developing a conceptual scheme to characterize and study the neurobiological basis of obsessive-compulsive and impulsive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-yuan, Taiwan. chiang-shan.li@yale.edu
authors.forename: Chiang-shan Ray
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sue-Huei
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires