Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Among Children in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Clinical, Cognitive, and Brain Connectivity Correlates

BACKGROUND. Childhood obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are common and can be an early risk marker for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study provides a unique opportunity to characterize OCS in a large, normative sample of school-age children and to explore cortico-striatal and task-control circuits implicated in pediatric OCD. METHOD. The ABCD Study acquired data from 9–10-year-olds (N=11,876). Linear mixed-effects models probed associations between OCS (Child Behavior Checklist) and cognition (NIH Toolbox), brain structure (subcortical volume, cortical thickness), white matter (diffusion tensor imaging), and resting-state functional connectivity. RESULTS. OCS scores showed good psychometric properties, high prevalence, and related to familial/parental factors, including family conflict. Higher OCS related to better cognitive performance (b=0.06, t(9966.60)=6.28, p