The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Development and validation of a short version.

The cognitive model of OCD proposes that certain beliefs may contribute to the development and maintenance of this disorder. To date, however, it is not yet clear which beliefs are more relevant for explaining OCD symptomatology; moreover, their causal status is yet to be clearly established. In the effort to identify other constructs and processes related to OCD, the phenomenon labeled "not just right experiences" (NJREs) has received increasing attention. In this study, measures of NJREs (the NJRE-Q-R), OCD symptoms, general distress (i.e., anxiety, and depression), and perfectionism were administered to a large sample of college students and a small sample of OCD and non-OCD patients. The clinical sample completed also a measure of OC beliefs. Results showed that NJREs could be reliably measured through a self-report format in non-clinical and clinical Italian individuals. A specific association between NJREs severity and OCD symptoms was found in the non-clinical sample, after controlling for anxiety, depression and perfectionism. The NJRE-Q-R Severity scale clearly discriminated OCD patients from patients with other anxiety disorders or depression. Lastly, the NJREs measure differentiated the clinical groups when OC beliefs were controlled, whereas OC beliefs did not discriminate among the groups after NJREs severity was controlled. The concept of NJREs may contribute to improve current psychological and biological model of OCD.

The impact of non-clinical obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) on neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia has received little investigation. We evaluated whether severity and subtype of OCS are associated with executive functioning in schizophrenia. Twenty-nine patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy subjects completed questionnaire and performance-based measures of executive functioning Overall OCS severity in patients was associated with poorer monitoring and cognitive flexibility per a questionnaire. Obsessing, hoarding, and checking were related to poorer executive functioning in daily life. Performance-based scores showed few correlations with OCS. Findings indicate that severity of non-clinical OCS subtypes contribute to the heterogeneity of executive functions in schizophrenia.

Adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at elevated risk of co‐occurring mental health problems. These are often undiagnosed, can cause significant impairment, and place a very high burden on family and carers. Detecting co‐occurring disorders is extremely important. However, there is no validated screening tool for this purpose. The aim of this pilot study is to test the utility of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for co‐occurring emotional disorders and hyperactivity in adolescents and adults with ASD. The SDQ was completed by 126 parents and 98 individuals with ASD (in 79 cases both parent and self‐report were available from the same families). Inter‐rater reliability, test‐retest stability, internal consistency, and construct validity were examined. SDQ subscales were also compared to clinically utilized measures of emotional disorders and hyperactivity to establish the ability to predict risk of disorder. Inter‐rater reliability (r = 0.42), test‐retest stability (r = 0.64), internal consistency (α = 0.52–0.81) and construct validity (r = 0.42–0.57) for the SDQ subscales were comparable to general population samples. Parent‐ and self‐report SDQ subscales were significantly associated with measures of anxiety, depression and hyperactivity (62–74% correctly classified). Parent‐report performed significantly better than self‐report; adults with ASD under‐reported difficulties. The SDQ shows promise as a simple and efficient way to screen for emotional disorders and hyperactivity in adolescents and adults with ASD that could help reduce the impact of these disorders on individuals and their families. However, further more systematic attempts at validation are warranted. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1353–1363. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.