Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-xxrs7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T23:25:59.567Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a Mentally Retarded Woman

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Richard J. McNally*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, Building 51, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
John E. Calamari
Affiliation:
Waukegan Developmental Center, Dugdale Circle, Waukegan, IL 60085, USA
*
Correspondence

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is extremely rare among mentally retarded people. We report here a case of a mildly mentally retarded woman who exhibits contamination obsessions, compulsive hand-washing rituals, and avoidance.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Christensen, H., Hadzi-Pavlovic, D., Andrews, G., et al (1987) Behavior therapy and tricyclic medication in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a quantitative review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 701711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, I. M. (1987) Fears, Phobias, and Rituals. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Matson, J. L. (1982) Treating obsessive-compulsive behavior in mentally retarded adults. Behavior Modification, 6, 551567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNally, R. J. & Ascher, L. M. (1987) Anxiety disorders in mentally retarded people. In Anxiety and Stress Disorders: Cognitive-Behavioral Assessment and Treatment (eds Michelson L. & Ascher L. M.), pp. 379394. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Novosel, S. (1984) Psychiatric disorder in adults admitted to a hospital for the mentally retarded. British Journal of Mental Subnormality, 30, 5458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perse, T. L., Greist, J. H., Jefferson, J. W., et al (1987) Fluvoxamine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 15431548.Google ScholarPubMed
Rachman, S. J. & Hodgson, R. J. (1980) Obsessions and Compulsions. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, S. A. & Tsuang, M. T. (1984) The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 45, 450457.Google ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.