title: "Not Just Right Experiences" as a psychological endophenotype for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evidence from an Italian family study.
abstract: The heart of the obsessional process may be considered the subject's underlying impression that "something is wrong" or "that something is not just as it should be". This phenomenon, labeled "not just right experiences" (NJREs), has increasingly been receiving attention as a possible marker of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study sought to add to the evidence that NJREs may be a putative endophenotype of obsessional symptoms. To this aim, measures of NJREs, obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and psychological distress were compared in offspring of parents with and without OC symptoms. The offspring of parents with OC symptoms (N=120) reported higher frequency and severity of NJREs compared to offspring of parents without OC symptoms (N=106). Such differences remained significant for NJREs frequency and close to significance for NJREs severity, when general distress (i.e., anxiety and depression) was controlled. The possible role of NJREs as an endophenotype for OCD is discussed in reference to Gottesman and Gould criteria and the National Institute of Mental Health RDoC initiative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: claudio.sica@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sica
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Gioia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bottesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health, University of Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caudek
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orsucci
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghisi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000235:genetics; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology; D003469:Culture; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D058068:Endophenotypes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: At risk population; Endophenotype; Family study; Not just right experiences; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Research domain criterion