title: Core OCD symptoms: exploration of specificity and relations with psychopathology.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous condition, comprised of multiple symptom domains. This study used aggregate composite scales representing three core OCD dimensions (Checking, Cleaning, and Rituals), as well as Hoarding, to examine the discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, and predictive ability of OCD symptom scales. The core OCD scales demonstrated strong patterns of convergent and discriminant validity - suggesting that these dimensions are distinct from other self-reported symptoms - whereas hoarding symptoms correlated just as strongly with OCD and non-OCD symptoms in most analyses. Across analyses, our results indicated that Checking is a particularly strong, specific marker of OCD diagnosis, whereas the specificity of Cleaning and Hoarding to OCD was less strong. Finally, the OCD Checking scale was the only significant predictor of OCD diagnosis in logistic regression analyses. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of assessing OCD symptom dimensions separately and implications for classification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 118 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. sstasik@nd.edu
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stasik
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naragon-Gainey
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chmielewski
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis*; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D000067836:Hoarding Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity