The relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and traumatic life events in adolescents

Objective: The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the possible relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and traumatic life events (TLEs) in this clinical sample of adolescents. The secondary objective is to evaluate the relationship between different clinical presentations and severities of OCS and specific TLEs. Methods: The study included 60 adolescents between 12-16 ages, with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) ac-cording to DSM-V and 60 adolescents without any psychiatric diagnosis. Sociodemographic characteristics of cases were evaluated with detailed form; in addition, neuropsychological tests were applied to investigate development of intelligence and trauma characteristics of childhood. Turkish version of Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizo-phrenia for School-Age-Children Present and lifetime version, Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Children's Depression Inventory and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-short form were applied in order to assess psychopathology. Intelligence level of patients were assessed with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Re-vised. Results: It was determined that there was a strong relationship between TLEs and OCS in adolescents, especially in females. TLEs were associated with all OCS manifestations, most prominently with sexual, religious and harm obsessions. The sexual abuse showed stronger associations with OCS compared with other TLEs. Dis-cussion: Due to limited number of patients, our findings couldn’t be generalized to all adolescents with OCS; there-fore there is a need for more studies in this area. [Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2020; 21(5.000): 507-514]