Objective:

This study explored the themes in comorbid obsessive-compulsive manifestations in youth with tic disorders. 

Background:

The Children’s Florida Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (C-FOCI) is a 22-item self-administered obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) screening tool (17 item symptom checklist, 5 severity ratings) that has demonstrated validity against the standard clinician interview-based CY-BOCS (The Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale).  Five subdomains have demonstrated validity against CY-BOCS domains (contamination, aggressive/checking, sexual/religious/somatic, symmetry, and hoarding).  

Design/Methods:

We administered C-FOCI to 50 pediatric participants with tic disorders in hopes of exploring which items and themes prevail and how those compare to published data in a general undifferentiated pediatric OCD population. 

Results:

In our tic population, the number of symptoms endorsed ranged (0-12), (M=6.18, SD=5.50), similar to the general OCD population, with (1-13), (M=6.22, SD=3.54) symptoms.  The most commonly endorsed obsessions/fears were “losing something valuable” (38.8%), equally “overconcern for keeping objects in perfect order or arranged exactly” and fears of “fire, burglary, or flooding of the house,” (36.7% each), as well as “needing to touch objects or people” (34.7%), falling into the domains of hoarding, symmetry, aggressive/checking, and symmetry, respectively. Two of the three least endorsed items were in the contamination domain, and one in the aggressive domain.  This compares to general OCD population, where two of the top 3 items endorsed fell into the "contamination" domain, and the third fell into symmetry obsessions.  Additional details will be provided.  

Conclusions:

Children with tic disorders and comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms may have different themes of OCD, with more checking/ordering and fear of aggressive events, and fewer contamination themes relative to the general pediatric OCD population.  Effective screening for comorbidities may involve targeting questions to address the most prevalent themes.