Obsessive-compulsive behavior in children and adolescents: A descriptive study in Spanish children

Abstract

This paper describes the most frequent obsessions and compulsions in a representative sample of children and teenagers 10-17 year old of Malaga province, as well as the form (thoughts, images, impulses, etc.) of obsessions in childhood and adolescence, and the type of strategies more frequency used to control obsessions. Results show that most frequent obsessions are those related with causing harm and order; that the most frequent compulsion is also order; and that obsessions usually have the form of mental images or diffuse feelings. The strategies most used to control obsessions are replacing obsessions by some other thought, and distracting by paying attention to the surroundings. The paper finishes discussing the importance of these results for the understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder in general and, especially, in children and teenagers.