ALPHA PSYCHIATRY
Original Articles

Assessment of social skills in adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder

1.

Malatya Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi, Cocuk ve Ergen Ruh Sagligi ve Hastaliklari Klinigi, Malatya

2.

Kocaeli Universitesi, Tip Fakultesi, Cocuk ve Ergen Ruh Sagligi ve Hastaliklari AD, Kocaeli

Alpha Psychiatry 2020; 21: 409-416
DOI: 10.5455/apd.71042
Read: 879 Downloads: 484 Published: 01 August 2020

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare social skills of adolescents diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), with their healthy counterparts. Methods: Seventy adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years were included in this study. Case group comprised 33 adolescents meeting DSM-5 criteria for OCD at any certain period of their lives and control group comprised 37 healthy adolescents. Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Children’s Global Assessment Scale, sociodemographic data form, UCLA Loneliness Scale, submissive acts scale, shyness scale and social comparison scale (SCS) were applied. Results: Adolescents in the OCD group had lower SCS scores and higher shyness scores (p=0.003, p=0.043). Parents of adolescents with OCD reported higher rates of struggles on the part of their children in making friends as well as higher odds of being excluded by their peers (p=0.001, p=0.005). Parents of children in the case group reported less number of friends for their children, and higher levels of shyness; however this did not reach a statistically significant difference between two groups (p=0.212, p=0.368). Discussion: Lower SCS scores obtained in adolescents with OCD were thought to be related to their perfectionist nature and self-perceptions of not being good enough. Scoring significantly higher on shyness scale might be related to their tendencies to avoid social occasions and interactions in order to hide their symptoms. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2020; 21(4.000): 409-416]

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