Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Questionnaire May Give Clues to Other Mental Health Problems

From the Press Release:

A shortened version of a questionnaire used by psychologists to assess risk factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder also may help determine the risk of depression and anxiety, according to a Baylor University study. The revision may be a good fit for assessing the risk of mental health issues stemming from certain beliefs — such as seeing threats as greater than they are and feeling that things are not right unless they are perfect. Such dysfunctional beliefs are central to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), said researcher Thomas Fergus, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences. The study was published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment.

The Validity and Specificity of the Short-Form of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ)
Abstract:

Moulding et al. (Assessment 18:357–374, 2011) created a 20-item short-form of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ; Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group in Behaviour Research and Therapy 43:1527–1542, 2005) labeled the OBQ-20. To date, the psychometric properties of the OBQ-20 have yet to be examined among clinical respondents. It is also unknown whether the OBQ-20 addresses the limited specificity of prior OBQ versions to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In Study 1, using a small clinical sample (N = 48), each OBQ-20 scale evidenced good internal consistency and shared a nearly identical correlation in magnitude with obsessive-compulsive symptoms relative to a corresponding full-length OBQ scale. In Study 2, using a large community sample (N = 507), the OBQ-20 scales generally correlated equivalently with obsessive-compulsive symptoms relative to both depression and generalized anxiety symptoms. The OBQ-20 demonstrated strong psychometric properties, but, like prior OBQ versions, did not emerge as specific to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Given its brevity and potential transdiagnostic importance, the OBQ-20 will likely be a useful assessment tool in both research and clinical settings.

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