OCD in a Cultural Context: A Phenomenological Approach

This study is an attempt to investigate the phenomenon of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in our culture. Initially, presenting symptoms of OCD were elicited from 20 firmly diagnosed clients through semi structured interviews. The symptoms were validated for their diagnostic relevance by 10 experienced clinicians. A final list of 27 symptoms were individually given to 113 OCD participants. The results showed that the most frequently reported obsessions were repetitive negative thoughts (97%), fear of developing mental illness (92%), indecisiveness (87%), and fear of germs (82%) followed by sexual thoughts (81%). The most frequently occurring compulsions were hand washing (90%), compulsive slowness (86%), counting (73%), checking (64%), and symmetry (53%). It was found that while the types of compulsions were similar to those reported in other studies, the form and the content of obsessions were seem to be influenced by social and religious backgrounds. The phenomenon of OCD is discussed in cultural context, its comorbidity and presenting symptoms.