Phenomenology of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: a Factor Analytic Approach

There have been few scientifically rigorous prospective studies which have looked at the phenomenology of obsessions and compulsions in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in the last decade. The current study aims to extend these findings and establisp their cross-cultural validity. Two hundred and two consecutive subjects with OCD were evaluated using the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale- Symptom Check List and Scale for Assessment of form and content. The data was subjected to Factor analysis with varimax rotation. The results suggest that there are factors which are broadly common to the two scales. The main Factors which emerged were Washers, Checkers, Hoarding and two pure Obsessional Factors. The cross-cultural validity of these factors has been established for an Indian population, and the relevance of specific items between scales has been discussed. The importance of such approaches in understanding etiology, prognosis and treatment of OCD is highlighted.