Temporal Stability of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Dimensions in an Undergraduate Sample

Abstract

The temporal stability of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions was studied in a nonclinical student sample. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory— Revised was administered twice to 132 undergraduate students during a 2-year period. There were no significant changes in symptom dimension scores between the baseline and follow-up, except for the Obsessing scale. The score of each dimension at follow-up was strongly and uniquely predicted from the score on the same dimension at baseline. The results indicate that obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions tend to be temporally stable in nonclinical participants, replicating similar studies in clinical populations.