Childhood trauma in obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania, and controls

✍ Scribed by Christine Lochner; Pieter L. du Toit; Nompumelelo Zungu-Dirwayi; Adele Marais; Jeanine van Kradenburg; Soraya Seedat; Dana J.H. Niehaus; Dan J. Stein

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 53 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1091-4269
• DOI: 10.1002/da.10028

✦ Synopsis

There is relatively little data on the link between childhood trauma and obsessive-compulsive/putative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. The revised Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which assesses physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as physical and emotional neglect, was administered to female patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 74; age: 36.1 ± 16.3), TTM (n = 36; age: 31.8 ± 12.3), and a group of normal controls (n = 31; age: 21.5 ± 1. Anxiety 15:66-68, 2002.

0). The findings showed a significantly greater severity of childhood trauma in general, and emotional neglect specifically, in the patient groups compared to the controls. Although various factors may play a role in the etiology of both OCD and trichotillomania (TTM), this study is consistent with some evidence from previous studies suggesting that childhood trauma may play a role in the development of these disorders. Depression and