Impulsiveness in obsessive-compulsive disorder: results from a family study

• Published in: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2007-01, Vol.115 (1), p.41-47
• Main Authors: Ettelt, S., Ruhrmann, S., Barnow, S., Buthz, F., Hochrein, A., Meyer, K., Kraft, S., Reck, C., Pukrop, R., Klosterkötter, J., Falkai, P., Maier, W., Wagner, M., Freyberger, H. J., Grabe, H. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; Aged; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; cognitive impulsiveness; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - diagnosis; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - epidemiology; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - genetics; Families & family life; Female; Germany; Humans; impulsiveness; Inhibition (Psychology); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; neuropsychological disinhibition; Neuropsychology; Neuroses; obsessive-compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - epidemiology; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - genetics; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; Personality Inventory; Phenotype; Psychological tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Sex Factors; Statistics as Topic
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447; 0065-1591
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00835.x

Objective:  Although obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is usually conceptualized as an anxiety disorder some studies suggested it to be a deficit of impulse control. The purpose of this study was to assess impulsiveness in OCD families and compare it to control families. Method:  Seventy cases and their 139 relatives were compared with 70 controls and their 134 relatives from a German family study on OCD (German Epidemiologic Network for OCD Studies). All subjects were interviewed and diagnosed according DSM‐IV criteria and were administered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and PADUA‐Inventory to assess obsessive‐compulsive symptoms. Results:  OCD subjects had significantly higher scores of cognitive impulsiveness. However, first‐degree relatives of OCD cases and of controls had comparable BIS‐11 scores. Significant associations of aggressive obsessions and checking with cognitive impulsiveness were found. Conclusion:  OCD is a severe mental disorder that is characterized by a lack of cognitive inhibition. However, impulsiveness does not represent a familial trait in families of OCD subjects.