An investigation of comorbidity of schizotypal and borderline personality disorders with obsessive-compulsive disorder and the relationship between their personality characteristics and the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Introduction: In the 4th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders obsessive disorders are classified as a subgroup of anxiety disorders. Magical thinking is the mutual trait between obsessive-compulsive disorder and Schizotypal personality disorder. On the other hand, magical thinking is recognized as one of the main traits of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Given the fact that to date no study has investigated the comorbidity of personality disorder with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its effect(s) on the personality disorders, the present study aims to investigate the comorbidity of Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) with OCD and to find out the relationship between them and the severity of OCD. Materials and Method: The current study is of descriptive, cross-sectional type. 140 patients who visited Razi Training and Medication centre and Bozorgmehr clinic in Tabriz were under study for 12 months. The patients afflicted with other mental disorders except SPD and BPD were excluded from the study. The sampling was carried out via convenience sampling method. Clinical interviews were carried out with individuals to diagnose OCD patients. Then, Schizotypal personality disorder and BPD patients were diagnosed via structured clinical interviews prepared on the basis of DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria to assess the comorbidity of SPD and BPD with OCD. In the next phase, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Schizotypic Syndrome Questionnaire (SSQ) and borderline personality scale (STB) were used. The obtained scores from the questionnaires were recorded to find out the relationship among SPD, BPD and the severity of OCD. Findings: According to the findings of the study the comorbidity of SPD with OCD is estimated at 41.4%, while it is estimated at 18.6% for the comorbidity of BPD with OCD. Furthermore, there is a significant and positive correlation between Yale-Brown, SPD and BPD scores of the patients (r = 0.22, P<0.01). Results: The results of the study show that first; there is a high comorbidity between SPD and OCD. Second, Schizotypal and borderline personality traits contribute to the severity of OCD. Third, SPD is an effective predicator of OCD.