Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms in Children Are Related to Sensory Sensitivity and to Seeking Proxies for Internal States

Author:

Tal Ilil1,Cervin Matti2,Liberman Nira1,Dar Reuven1

Affiliation:

1. School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

2. Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden

Abstract

Symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder are related to atypical sensory processing, particularly sensory over-responsivity, in both children and adults. In adults, obsessive–compulsive symptoms are also associated with the attenuation of access to the internal state and compensatory reliance on proxies for these states, including fixed rules and rituals. We aimed to examine the associations between sensory over-responsivity, the tendency to seek proxies for internal states, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in children. Parents of 404 children between 5 and 10 years of age completed online measures of obsessive–compulsive symptoms, seeking proxies for internal states, sensory over-responsivity, and anxiety. Linear regression, dominance analysis, and network analysis were used to explore the unique associations between these variables. The tendency to seek proxies for internal states was more strongly associated with obsessive–compulsive symptoms than with anxiety symptoms and uniquely associated with all major obsessive–compulsive symptom dimensions except obsessing. Both the tendency to seek proxies for internal states and sensory over-responsivity were significantly associated with obsessive–compulsive symptoms, but the association was significantly stronger for the tendency to seek proxies for internal states. While limited by the sole reliance on the parent-report, the present study shows that the tendency to seek proxies for internal states could help clarify the developmental processes involved in the onset of obsessive–compulsive symptoms during childhood and that sensory sensitivity may be important to consider in this process.

Funder

Israel Science Foundation

Adler Research Center for Child Welfare and Protection

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

General Neuroscience

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3