title: Phenomenology of Early Childhood Onset Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
abstract: This paper describes the phenomenological features of early childhood onset obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD; defined as children meeting DSM-IV criteria for OCD with age of onset <8 years). Fifty-eight children (ages 4-8) were included in the sample. OCD and comorbid diagnoses were determined by structured interview, and OCD severity was measured using the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). Mean age of OCD onset was almost five, and mean age of presentation was between 6 and 7. Mean symptom severity was in the moderately severe range. Comorbidity and family history of OCD were common. Contamination and aggressive/catastrophic obsessions and washing and checking compulsions were endorsed most frequently. Results indicate that early childhood onset OCD may have a lower boy to girl ratio and lower rates of depressive disorders, but may be similar to later childhood onset OCD in terms of OCD symptom presentation and severity.
authors.affiliation: Bradley/Hasbro Children's Research Center, Providence, USA.
authors.forename: Abbe M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Himle
authors.forename: Noah C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: Alexandra K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Molly L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Choate-Summers
authors.forename: Henrietta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leonard