Impulsiveness in Obsessive-Compulsive Patients

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive patients with a history of poor impulse control were identified and compared with non-impulsive obsessive-compulsive patients. Although both groups reported comparable obsessive-compulsive symptoms, the impulsive group rated significantly higher on disturbances during childhood, which included learning problems, low frustration tolerance, poor interpersonal relationships and attention-seeking behaviour. The impulsive group also scored highly on the neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and reported a higher incidence of somatic symptoms. It appears that poor impulse control was related to disturbances which had already manifested themselves during childhood, while the obsessive-compulsive disorder was superimposed at a later time.