Correlates of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders symptom severity during the COVID-19 pandemic
Correlates of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders symptom severity during the COVID-19 pandemic
We investigated changes in the severity of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) symptoms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. An Amazon Mechanical Turk sample of 829 individuals was evaluated with a series of instruments assessing the severity of the OCRDs before and during the pandemic. Additional questionnaires about sociodemographic factors, personal and family histories of OCRD, COVID-19 related events, compulsivity and impulsivity traits, schizotypal symptoms, and the severity of depression, anxiety and stress levels, were also used. Participants reported that OCD, hoarding disorder (HD) and skin picking disorder (SPD) symptoms significantly worsened during the pandemic along with increased disability, more affective symptoms and reduced quality of life. Female gender, a higher number of COVID-19 related stressful events, and higher pre-COVID-19 fear of harm and symmetry symptoms predicted more severe OCD symptoms during the pandemic, whereas lack of a HD diagnosis by a mental health professional and more severe schizotypal symptoms predicted worsened hoarding symptoms. Greater compulsivity traits were associated with more severe COVID-19 pandemic obsessive-compulsive and hoarding symptoms. These data indicate that the immense distress resulting from the COVID-19 included significant deterioration of OCRDs' symptoms, particularly of OCD, HD and SPD. It was also possible to identify a pre-pandemic profile of people most at risk of pandemic-related deterioration in OCRDs' symptoms, which may prove valuable for preventative initiatives in relation to the likely future waves of COVID-19 or of other communicable diseases. Future studies should follow up these findings longitudinally.
Compulsive behavior, COVID-19, Hoarding, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Personality disorder, Psychological trauma
471-480
Fontenelle, Leonardo F.
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Albertella, Lucy
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Brierley, Mary Ellen
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Thompson, Emma M.
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Destrée, Louise
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Chamberlain, Sam R.
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Yücel, Murat
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November 2021
Fontenelle, Leonardo F.
859206be-2b11-438a-9b18-d22579111a6b
Albertella, Lucy
c95a7a69-10d8-4549-a155-55a42170d8c0
Brierley, Mary Ellen
2082e849-6b86-4d26-a478-6c2001d14ee1
Thompson, Emma M.
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Destrée, Louise
0fa8ff08-ba50-48ca-bdcc-95235dbc0c78
Chamberlain, Sam R.
8a0e09e6-f51f-4039-9287-88debe8d8b6f
Yücel, Murat
aff092ea-35e0-476a-b9bf-ace9b84aa1e1
Fontenelle, Leonardo F., Albertella, Lucy, Brierley, Mary Ellen, Thompson, Emma M., Destrée, Louise, Chamberlain, Sam R. and Yücel, Murat
(2021)
Correlates of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders symptom severity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Journal of Psychiatric Research, 143, .
(doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.03.046).
Abstract
We investigated changes in the severity of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) symptoms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. An Amazon Mechanical Turk sample of 829 individuals was evaluated with a series of instruments assessing the severity of the OCRDs before and during the pandemic. Additional questionnaires about sociodemographic factors, personal and family histories of OCRD, COVID-19 related events, compulsivity and impulsivity traits, schizotypal symptoms, and the severity of depression, anxiety and stress levels, were also used. Participants reported that OCD, hoarding disorder (HD) and skin picking disorder (SPD) symptoms significantly worsened during the pandemic along with increased disability, more affective symptoms and reduced quality of life. Female gender, a higher number of COVID-19 related stressful events, and higher pre-COVID-19 fear of harm and symmetry symptoms predicted more severe OCD symptoms during the pandemic, whereas lack of a HD diagnosis by a mental health professional and more severe schizotypal symptoms predicted worsened hoarding symptoms. Greater compulsivity traits were associated with more severe COVID-19 pandemic obsessive-compulsive and hoarding symptoms. These data indicate that the immense distress resulting from the COVID-19 included significant deterioration of OCRDs' symptoms, particularly of OCD, HD and SPD. It was also possible to identify a pre-pandemic profile of people most at risk of pandemic-related deterioration in OCRDs' symptoms, which may prove valuable for preventative initiatives in relation to the likely future waves of COVID-19 or of other communicable diseases. Future studies should follow up these findings longitudinally.
Text
LAST_1OCRDs_COVID_MANUSCRIPT
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 24 March 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 13 April 2021
Published date: November 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (L.F., grant number 302526/2018-8), Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, (L.F., grant number CNE E 26/203.052/2017); the D'Or Institute of Research and Education (L.F., no grant number available); and the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund. (L.F, no grant number available); M.Y. has received funding from Monash University, and Australian Government funding bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; including Fellowship #APP1117188), the Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Defence Science and Technology (DST), and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS). He has also received philanthropic donations from the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund, Wilson Foundation, as well as payments in relation to court-, expert witness-, and/or expert review-reports. The funding sources had no role in study design, data analysis, and result interpretation.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (L.F., grant number 302526/2018-8 ), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro , (L.F., grant number CNE E 26/203.052/2017 ); the D'Or Institute of Research and Education (L.F., no grant number available); and the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund . (L.F, no grant number available); M.Y. has received funding from Monash University , and Australian Government funding bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; including Fellowship # APP1117188 ), the Australian Research Council (ARC) , Australian Defence Science and Technology (DST) , and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS) . He has also received philanthropic donations from the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund, Wilson Foundation, as well as payments in relation to court-, expert witness-, and/or expert review-reports. The funding sources had no role in study design, data analysis, and result interpretation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Compulsive behavior, COVID-19, Hoarding, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Personality disorder, Psychological trauma
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450198
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450198
ISSN: 0022-3956
PURE UUID: dd7c4918-8033-4cdc-939d-be63e48ad25f
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Date deposited: 15 Jul 2021 16:40
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 05:27
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Contributors
Author:
Leonardo F. Fontenelle
Author:
Lucy Albertella
Author:
Mary Ellen Brierley
Author:
Emma M. Thompson
Author:
Louise Destrée
Author:
Sam R. Chamberlain
Author:
Murat Yücel
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