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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent condition with multifactorial etiology involving genetic and environmental factors. The present study aims to summarize the correlates of stressful life events (SLEs) in OCD by reviewing studies comparing OCD associated or not with SLEs before its onset. To do so, a systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases for studies published between the database's inception and November 27, 2023. Studies including individuals whose OCD was precipitated or not by SLEs (SLEs OCD and NSLEs OCD, respectively) were assessed. Effect sizes or odds ratios were then calculated to identify the strength of association between SLEs and clinical characteristics, such as gender, age of onset, family history of OCD, severity of OCD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and mood comorbidities among patients with OCD. Out of the 4083 records initially identified, 5 studies met the inclusion criteria and 3 were comparable through a meta-analysis. Notably, the analyses were limited by the small number of studies available in the literature. The meta-analysis demonstrated SLEs OCD to be associated with female gender, later OCD onset, and increased comorbidity rates with mood disorders. Despite the cross-sectional nature of the reviewed studies, women may be more vulnerable to develop a later onset of OCD following SLEs, which may also lead to mood disorders. Caution is needed to avoid prematurely classifying this presentation as a distinct subtype of OCD.

Objective: To (1) confirm whether the Habit, Reward, and Fear Scale is able to generate a 3-factor solution in a population of obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients; (2) compare these clinical groups in their habit, reward, and fear motivations; and (3) investigate whether homogenous subgroups can be identified to resolve heterogeneity within and across disorders based on the motivations driving ritualistic and drinking behaviors., Methods: One hundred and thirty-four obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 76) or AUD (n = 58) patients were assessed with a battery of scales including the Habit, Reward, and Fear Scale, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Alcohol Dependence Scale, the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System Scale, and the Urgency, (lack of ) Premeditation, (lack of ) Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale., Results: A 3-factor solution reflecting habit, reward, and fear subscores explained 56.6% of the total variance of the Habit, Reward, and Fear Scale. Although the habit and fear subscores were significantly higher in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and the reward subscores were significantly greater in AUD patients, a cluster analysis identified that the 3 clusters were each characterized by differing proportions of OCD and AUD patients., Conclusions: While affective (reward- and fear-driven) and nonaffective (habitual) motivations for repetitive behaviors seem dissociable from each other, it is possible to identify subgroups in a transdiagnostic manner based on motivations that do not match perfectly motivations that usually described in OCD and AUD patients.

Objective: We assessed self-reported drives for alcohol use and their impact on clinical features of alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients. Our prediction was that, in contrast to "affectively" (reward or fear) driven drinking, "habitual" drinking would be associated with worse clinical features in relation to alcohol use and higher occurrence of associated psychiatric symptoms., Methods: Fifty-eight Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) alcohol abuse patients were assessed with a comprehensive battery of reward- and fear-based behavioral tendencies. An 18-item self-report instrument (the Habit, Reward and Fear Scale; HRFS) was employed to quantify affective (fear or reward) and non-affective (habitual) motivations for alcohol use. To characterize clinical and demographic measures associated with habit, reward, and fear, we conducted a partial least squares analysis., Results: Habitual alcohol use was significantly associated with the severity of alcohol dependence reflected across a range of domains and with lower number of detoxifications across multiple settings. In contrast, reward-driven alcohol use was associated with a single domain of alcohol dependence, reward-related behavioral tendencies, and lower number of detoxifications., Conclusion: These results seem to be consistent with a shift from goal-directed to habit-driven alcohol use with severity and progression of addiction, complementing preclinical work and informing biological models of addiction. Both reward-related and habit-driven alcohol use were associated with lower number of detoxifications, perhaps stemming from more benign course for the reward-related and lack of treatment engagement for the habit-related alcohol abuse group. Future work should further explore the role of habit in this and other addictive disorders, and in obsessive-compulsive related disorders.

Objective: In this study, we compared duration of untreated illness (DUI) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients and investigated its correlates, both within specific diagnoses and across the whole sample., Methods: Eighty-eight patients (33 OCD, 24 SAD, and 31 PD) had their diagnosis confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, were assessed for treatment-seeking variables, and were evaluated with instruments aimed at quantifying transdiagnostic features (i.e., the Cause subscale of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Mental Health and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised) and severity of illness (i.e., Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale, and the Social Phobia Inventory)., Results: The only differences between groups with short (<2 years) versus long (>2 years) DUI were greater fear of public display of anxiety in the first group and greater social avoidance in the second group. The DUI was significantly different between groups that sought treatment after the onset of illness, with OCD patients having longer DUI than PD patients and shorter DUI than SAD patients. Further, DUI correlated negatively with the perception of OCD being caused by stress and positively with severity of panic-related disability in SAD patients, but not in PD or OCD patients., Conclusion: There was substantial delay in treatment seeking among the anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, particularly those with OCD or SAD. Perception of stress as a cause of OCD prompted treatment seeking, while severity of panic symptoms delayed treatment seeking.