Assessment of worry and OCD: how are they related?

This study investigates the overlap and differences between measures of worry and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It was expected that: (1) worry and obsessive compulsive symptoms are distinct concepts, yet that (2) worry and the cognitive components of OCD are more strongly related compared to the behaviour components of OCD. By means of confirmatory analysis it was found that all six components, i.e. worry, obsessive rumination, impulses, washing, checking and precision proved distinct components. Of the obsessive compulsive components, rumination was found to be most closely associated with worry. In further investigating the relative impact of obsessive compulsive symptoms on worry, it was found that obsessive rumination offered the largest unique contribution to the prediction of worry. When controlled for depressive mood, the overlap between rumination and worry dropped substantially. The results of this study clearly underline the differentiation between worry and obsessive compulsive symptoms.