Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms among Spanish Adolescents: Prevalence and Association with Depressive and Anxious Symptoms

The present study examines the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in a population 1,061 adolescents (mean age 13.92) in Spain. The association between OCS and anxiety symptoms severity (panic attacks, separation anxiety, social phobia, generalized anxiety and school phobia) and depressive symptom severity has also been studied. Two distinct groups of subjects were defined and analyzed as being 'positive' on the obsessive-compulsive screen: The first group (called High interference) included all of the subjects who scored 25 or more in Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version (LOI-CV) interference score regardless of symptom presence score, and the second group (labeled High symptom presence) consisted of all subjects with a symptom presence score equal to or above 15 and an interference score of 10 or less. Females scored higher than did males both on the symptom presence and interference scores. Forty-one subjects (3.9%) showed an interference score of 25 or more (high interference group) while eight students (0.8%) were included in the high symptom presence group. The most prevalent and interfering symptoms were: fussy about hands, hating dirt and contamination and going over things a lot. In addition, the association between LOI and depressive symptom severity was significant, while the association between LOI and anxiety symptoms severity was insignificant.