Internet Help-Seeking Juveniles with OCD: An Examination of Severity, Symptoms, Disability and Motivation

Despite increasing research in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a great deal still needs to be learned regarding how the disorder manifests in the juvenile population. This study sought to expound on previous research in adults to explore the characteristics of juveniles with OCD who are seeking help via the Internet, namely their OCD symptomology and its impact on disabilty and severity, and the value of a self-perception severity screener.

This study utilized a population of 157 juveniles who were accessing an online website for program-guided treatment of OCD (ages 7 to 17 years, M = 14.55, SD = 2.33).

Results revealed that the most frequently reported subtype for juveniles was not just right (n = 73, 88.0%) followed by contamination (n = 58, 69.9%) OCD, almost half the participants 45% (n= 46) accurately reported their symptom severity, and over-reporting of symptom severity was associated with an increase in disability compared to both those who accurately reported [t(97) = −2.642, p = 0.010, r = .26] and under-reported [t(97) = −4.184, p < 0.001, r = .39] symptoms.

Clinical implications (e.g., OCD severity ratings, symptom categories, disability ratings and treatment implications), limitations (e.g., lack of confirmed diagnoses and self-reported data), and future directions (i.e., replication studies with juvenile specific measures) are discussed.