The Parma High School Epidemiological Survey: obsessive-compulsive symptoms

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of obsessive- compulsive symptoms in a population of Italian adolescents. Method: A sample of 2877 high-school students, 1463 males (51%) and 1414 fe males (49%), aged 16-21 years were assessed with the Leyton Obsessional Inv entory - Child Version (LOI-CV). Two groups of subjects were defined as 'po sitive' on the screen: the high interference (HI) (i.e. all subjects who sc ored 25 or more in the interference score), and the supernormals (Sn). Results: Females scored higher than males both on yes and interference scor es. One hundred and nineteen (4.1%) and 87 (3.0%) constitute, respectively, the HI and the Sn groups. The most interfering symptoms were obsessions li nked to dirt phobia, rumination and nail biting. Conclusion: The prevalence estimates of OCD symptoms confirmed the recent d ata of the literature that adolescent OCD symptoms are more frequent than w as believed previously. Females showed more symptoms and more interference on personal functioning than males.