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Individuals with misophonia present with sensitivity to selective sounds and, may experience negative psychological and physiological reactions when exposed to triggers. Previous studies have examined the clinical correlates and phenomenology of misophonia; however, further research is warranted to extend findings beyond samples from Western cultures. Accordingly, this study investigated the incidence and phenomenology of misophonia in a sample of Chinese college students ( N =415; M age =19.81; SD =1.16) through the use of self-report measures. Approximately 6% of the sample exhibited clinically significant misophonia symptoms with associated impairment. In addition, misophonia symptoms were associated with impairment across work, school, social, and family domains. Medium to strong relationships were observed with general sensory sensitivities, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Anxiety significantly mediated the relationship between misophonia and anger outbursts. This study indicates that symptoms of misophonia are common and directly associated with multiple domains of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although anxiety sensitivity (AS) presents in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it has received minimal empirical attention. There are postulated connections between AS and family accommodation, but this relationship has yet to be formally examined.Methods: The present study included 58 adults with OCD who completed a clinician-rated measure of OCD symptom severity, as well as self-report measures assessing AS, family variables, impairment, and co-occurring psychopathology.Results: Participants' AS moderately correlated with family accommodation, family functioning, and depression, while strongly correlating with anxiety symptoms. The Fear of Cognitive Dyscontrol AS subscale moderately correlated with multiple domains of functional impairment, and predicted family accommodation beyond the effects of OCD symptom severity. Family accommodation mediated the relationship between the Fear of Cognitive Dyscontrol AS subscale and functional impairment.Limitations: The study was cross-sectional in nature, limiting the ability to establish directionality and causation. The sample was also limited to adults with OCD and their own symptomology, necessitating further investigations of these constructs in pediatric samples and psychopathology in the caregivers/relatives.Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of considering fears regarding the loss of mental control within the context of family accommodation in OCD when evaluating functional impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family accommodation in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by myriad behaviors, such as modifying family routines, facilitating avoidance, and engaging in compulsions to reduce obsessional distress. It has been linked to various deleterious outcomes including increased functional impairment and poorer treatment response for OCD. Although extant literature suggests a linear relationship between family accommodation and OCD symptom severity, the magnitude and statistical significance of this association has been inconsistent across studies, indicating that moderators may be influencing this relationship. The present study examined this relationship using meta-analytic techniques, and investigated sample-dependent (age, gender, comorbid anxiety/mood disorders) and methodological (administration method and number of items used in family accommodation measure, informant type, sample size, publication year) moderators. Forty-one studies were included in the present meta-analysis, and the overall effect size (ES) for the correlation between family accommodation and OCD symptom severity was moderate ( r = .42). Moderator analyses revealed that the number of items on the family accommodation scale moderated the ES. No other sample-dependent or methodological characteristics emerged as moderators. In addition to being the first systematic examination of family accommodation moderators, these results highlight the moderate relationship between family accommodation and OCD severity that is influenced by measurement scales. Findings may be used to guide clinical care and inform future investigations by providing a more nuanced understanding of family accommodation in OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family accommodation is a salient phenomenon within pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a large number of families engaging in behaviors and modifying family routines in response to the youth's OCD symptoms. Family accommodation is commonly considered as a unidimensional construct, resulting in limited research on the phenomenological aspects of family accommodation and how different facets (i.e., participation, modification, and distress/consequences) may impact pediatric OCD. As such, the present study sought to examine the extent to which family accommodation, as a whole and within subtypes, was related to OCD symptom severity and symptom dimensions, youth clinical characteristics (i.e., internalizing/externalizing symptoms, depressive symptoms), and family factors (i.e., cohesion and conflict). Family accommodation was related to OCD symptom severity and the contamination symptom dimension, youth depressive symptoms (but not the participation domain), and youth internalizing/externalizing symptoms. Youth externalizing symptoms mediated the relationship between OCD symptom severity and family accommodation. After controlling for OCD symptom severity, youth externalizing symptoms predicted family accommodation in general, as well as the distress/consequences domain. Family cohesion predicted participation in OCD symptoms, above and beyond OCD symptom severity. Detailed results and implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Second Edition (CY-BOCS-II) in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Method: Youth with OCD (N = 102; age range 7-17 years), who were seeking treatment from 1 of 2 specialty OCD treatment centers, participated in the study. The CY-BOCS-II was administered at an initial assessment, and measures of OCD symptom severity, anxiety and depressive symptoms, behavioral and emotional problems, and global functioning were administered. Inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities were assessed on a subsample of participants (n = 50 and n = 31, respectively) approximately 1 week after intial assessment.Results: The CY-BOCS-II demonstrated moderate-to-strong internal consistency (α = 0.75-0.88) and excellent inter-rater (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86-0.92) and test-retest (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.95-0.98) reliabilities across all scales. Construct validity was supported by strong correlations with clinician-rated measures of OCD symptom severity and moderate correlations with measures of anxiety symptoms. Exploratory factor analysis showed a 2-factor structure, which was generally inconsistent with its adult counterpart, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Second Edition.Conclusion: Initial findings support the CY-BOCS-II as a reliable and valid measure of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior promising results have been reported with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the anterior limb of the internal capsule in cases with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who had exhausted conventional therapies. Methods: In this pilot study, six adult patients (2 male; 4 female) meeting stringent criteria for severe (minimum Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [Y-BOCS] of 28) and treatment-refractory OCD had DBS electrode arrays placed bilaterally in an area spanning the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule and adjacent ventral striatum referred to as the ventral capsule/ventral striatum. Using a randomized, staggered-onset design, patients were stimulated at either 30 or 60 days following surgery under blinded conditions. Results: After 12 months of stimulation, four (66.7%) of six patients met a stringent criterion as “responders” (≥35% improvement in the Y-BOCS and end point Y-BOCS severity ≤16). Patients did not improve during sham stimulation. Depressive symptoms improved significantly in the group as a whole; global functioning improved in the four responders. Adverse events associated with chronic DBS were generally mild and modifiable with setting changes. Stimulation interruption led to rapid but reversible induction of depressive symptoms in two cases. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that DBS of the ventral capsule/ventral striatum region is a promising therapy of last resort for carefully selected cases of severe and intractable OCD. Future research should attend to subject selection, lead location, DBS programming, and mechanisms underpinning therapeutic benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• FA changed significantly during treatment, with gains maintained over 6-months. • Baseline OCD symptom severity did not predict changes in FA. • Children with higher baseline impairment exhibited greater improvements in FA. • Therapeutic alliance and treatment expectancies did not predict changes in FA. • FA mediated relationship between OCD symptom severity and parent-rated impairment. Family accommodation (FA) is key in the maintenance of OCD. However, most studies are cross-sectional, and have not identified long-term trajectories and correlates of FA changes over treatment. This study investigated changes in clinician-rated FA over 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for 142 children with OCD, as well as several key predictors/correlates: (a) clinician-rated OCD symptom severity, (b) child- and parent-rated functional impairment, (c) parent-rated treatment expectancies, and (d) child- and parent-rated therapeutic alliance. Multi-level models indicated that FA changed significantly during treatment, with gains maintained over 6-months. Baseline clinician-rated OCD severity did not predict changes in FA. Significant interactions indicated that children with higher child- and parent-rated impairment exhibited greater FA improvements over treatment (versus children with lower impairment). Child- and parent-rated therapeutic alliance and parent-rated expectancies did not predict FA changes. Finally, FA mediated the relationship between OCD severity and parent- (but not child-) rated impairment. Reverse mediation models were also significant. Findings indicate that CBT can successfully reduce FA (a) even if children experience high OCD severity and interference in school, relationships, and family life, and (b) regardless of non-specific factors like treatment expectancies and alliance. FA reductions are an important mechanism mediating treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abstract of the article "Fear Extinction in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" by Joseph McGuire and colleagues is presented.