Motivation to change as a predictor of treatment response in obsessive compulsive disorder.
BACKGROUND
Motivation to change has been shown to predict treatment outcome in various areas of mental health but has never been examined in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The purpose of this report is to present the first use of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) in an OCD pharmacotherapy sample and to determine whether motivation to change predicts degree of treatment response in this group.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 32 outpatients diagnosed with OCD who completed an open-label 10-week trial of fluvoxamine. Participants completed the URICA at baseline. OCD symptom severity was rated at baseline and end of treatment.


RESULTS
While overall readiness was not related to change in severity, high scores on the Precontemplation subscale (indicating greater resistance to changing OC behaviors) were associated with less change pre- to post-treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary findings indicate that greater resistance to change is associated with less improvement in OCD symptom severity following pharmacotherapy. As this is the first use of the URICA as a predictor of OCD response, future research should further examine the role of motivation to change in treatment outcome in a larger OCD sample.
Pinto
Anthony
A
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA. Anthony_Pinto@brown.edu
Pinto
Angela Marinilli
AM
Neziroglu
Fugen
F
Yaryura-Tobias
Jose A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D016666:Fluvoxamine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010555:Personality Inventory; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D016666:Fluvoxamine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors