title: The Association of Anger with Symptom Subtypes in Severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Outpatients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the theoretical and clinical relevance of psychopathological dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), no studies to date have investigated their possible association with obsession subtypes. Thus, we aimed to examine whether, in OCD patients, anger and other psychopathological dimensions are associated with specific obsession subtypes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We consecutively recruited 57 first-visit OCD patients (66.7% female, mean age 34 years) at our Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic. We used the point biserial coefficient (rpbi) to measure the correlation between psychopathological dimensions and obsession subtypes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found significant correlations (p < 0.05) between the following: (1) anger/aggressiveness dimension and aggressive, contamination, and sexual obsessions; (2) apprehension/fear dimension and contamination, religious, and somatic obsessions; (3) sadness/demoralization dimension and contamination and somatic obsessions; (4) impulsivity dimension and aggressive and sexual obsessions, and (5) somatic concern/somatization dimension and contamination and somatic obsessions. We also found that OCD patients with comorbid obsessive-compulsive personality disorder--but not schizotypal or histrionic disorders--showed higher levels (p < 0.05) of obsessiveness/iterativity and anger/aggressiveness than OCD patients without the personality disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anger and other psychopathological dimensions seem to be linked with specific obsession subtypes in OCD patients, suggesting an association between these dimensions and OCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piacentino
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pasquini
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tarsitani
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berardelli
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roselli
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maraone
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biondi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D015897:Comorbidity; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult