Frequency of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Subtypes: Gender Role

Understanding the subtypes of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder that are stable and homogeneous can play an important role in understanding the variety of therapeutic responses, improving treatment efficacy and also in advancing the theories of etiology. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of obsessive-compulsive disorder subtypes in Iranian individuals with this disorder. The research design was a cross-sectional descriptive design. An available sample of 50 clients with obsessive-compulsive disorder was selected. The instrument for data collection was the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Goodman et al., 1986). Descriptive method and, Chi-square inferential methods were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that the most common obsession subtypes are aggressive, contamination and religious obsessions. There was also the most common compulsions are repetition, cleaning/ washing, and checking. On the other hand, the obsession subtypes of require for symmetry and accuracy, and the subtype of hoarding/ collecting have had the least frequency. In addition, the subtype’s frequency of obsessions and compulsions were distributed differently according to the subjects' gender. The obsessions of aggressive and contamination, and the compulsions of cleaning/ washing in women, and aggressive and sexual obsessions, and repetition and checking compulsions in men were more frequent. These findings support the idea of global pattern for symptoms of this disorder. But the point to consider is that the highest frequency of obsessions in both sexes, and especially with a significant difference in women, is aggressive obsession. In this study, women were twice more than men had aggressive obsession, which is different from the common global pattern.