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Psychiatria pre prax 2/2025
Adverse childhood experiences and psychopathology in patients with OCD
Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a heterogeneous group of negative events such as child abuse, neglect or bullying, death of a parent or domestic violence. There is a consensus across mental health professionals and the public that these phenomena can harm an individual’s mental health and contribute to the development of many psychiatric disorders. This research aims to explore the relationship between five specific childhood adversities (physical abuse and neglect, emotional abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse) and the severity of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disability.
Method: Sixty-four patients completed a six-week inpatient treatment at the Department of Psychiatry of the Palacky University and University Hospital Olomouc from October 2019 to March 2022. The participants filled in self-report questionnaires CTQ, Y-BOCS, BAI, BDI-II, DES, SDS, CGI. A trainer evaluator scored MINI and HAM-A. Data were processed using the Shapiro-Wilk test and the Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation coefficient.
Results: Aversive childhood experiences relate to an earlier development of OCD but do not correlate with the severity of obsessions and compulsions. Childhood adversities, especially emotional abuse and neglect, positively correlate with anxiety and depressive symptoms, the presence of general and pathological dissociation, and the disability in social life.
Conclusions: Preliminary results from our study suggest that ACEs play a significant role in developing OCD– either as a direct trigger or a contributing factor increasing an individual’s vulnerability. The adverse childhood experiences and their potential effects should be reflected and addressed in the routine care.
Keywords: obsessive compulsive disorder, OCD, adverse childhood experiences, childhood trauma, emotional abuse, neglect, onset
