title: Investigating Treatment Outcomes Across OCD Symptom Dimensions in a Clinical Sample of OCD Patients.
abstract: Despite the heterogeneous nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), many self-report assessments do not adequately capture the clinical picture presenting within each symptom dimension, particularly unacceptable thoughts (UTs). In addition, obsessions and ordering/arranging compulsions are often underrepresented in samples of treatment outcome studies for OCD. Such methodological discrepancies may obscure research findings comparing treatment outcomes across OCD symptom dimensions. This study aimed to improve upon previous research by investigating treatment outcomes across OCD symptom dimensions using the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, which offers a more comprehensive assessment of UTs. The study included a primarily residential sample of 134 OCD patients. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in treatment outcomes across symptom dimensions. However, the severity of UTs remained significantly greater than other symptom dimensions at both admission and discharge. Thus, it is possible that UTs may exhibit uniquely impairing features, compared with other symptom dimensions. It is also possible that these findings may reflect the characteristics of the residential OCD samples. These speculations as well as implications for OCD treatment and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Houston , 126 Heyne Bldg, Houston , TX 77204-5022 , USA.
authors.forename: Tannah
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chase
authors.affiliation: b Rogers Memorial Hospital , 34700 Valley Road, Oconomowoc , WI 53066 , USA.
authors.forename: Chad T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Wetterneck
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , University of Houston-Clear Lake , 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston , TX 77058 , USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bartsch
authors.affiliation: b Rogers Memorial Hospital , 34700 Valley Road, Oconomowoc , WI 53066 , USA.
authors.forename: Rachel C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: b Rogers Memorial Hospital , 34700 Valley Road, Oconomowoc , WI 53066 , USA.
authors.forename: Bradley C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Riemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: obsessive-compulsive disorder; symptom dimensions; treatment outcomes; unacceptable thoughts