The Impact of Personality Traits on Ratings of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Introduction: The American Psychological Association's national surveys have revealed high levels of stress surrounding the political climate since the 2016 United States (U.S.) presidential election. The two current studies aimed to further evaluate the impact of political factors, such as social and economic conservatism and political party affiliation mismatch between individuals and their local or federal officials, on emotional experiences. Methods: Data for these studies were collected through Amazon's Mechanical Turk following the 2016 and 2018 U.S. elections. Results: Results from Study 1 revealed that following the 2016 presidential election, higher social and economic conservatism was associated with less political obsessions and lower levels of depression. Results from Study 2 also demonstrated that following the 2018 midterm elections, higher conservatism predicted lower depression, less political obsessions, lower levels of negative affect, and higher positive affect. Additionally, conservatism moderated the relationship between party affiliation mismatch between participants and their official in the U.S. House of Representatives and both anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The relationship between mismatch of party affiliation for participants’ Senators and obsessive-compulsive symptoms was also moderated by conservatism. Discussion: These studies suggest that political factors, particularly conservatism, may impact emotional experiences and mental health symptoms during times of increased political polarization. Future studies should further explore the impact of political divisiveness on individual's stress levels and emotional well-being.

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Case Report: Treatment of a Comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder With Psychostimulants

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.649833 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Ezgi Dogan-Sander ◽

Maria Strauß

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Case Report ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Adult Adhd ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

The Impact

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disease in childhood and adolescence. In about 60% of pediatric patients, the symptoms persist into adulthood. Treatment guidelines for adult ADHD patients suggest multimodal therapy consisting of psychostimulants and psychotherapy. Many adult ADHD patients also suffer from psychiatric comorbidities, among others obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). The treatment of the comorbidity of ADHD and OCD remains challenging as the literature is sparse. Moreover, the impact of psychostimulants on obsessive–compulsive symptoms is still unclear.Case Presentation: Here, we report on a 33-year-old patient with an OCD who was unable to achieve sufficient remission under long-term guideline-based treatment for OCD. The re-examination of the psychological symptoms revealed the presence of adult ADHD as a comorbid disorder. The patient has already been treated with paroxetine and quetiapine for the OCD. Due to the newly established diagnosis of ADHD, extended-release methylphenidate (ER MPH) was administered in addition to a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. After a dose of 30 mg ER MPH, the patient reported an improvement in both the ADHD and the obsessive–compulsive symptoms. After discharge, the patient reduced ER MPH without consultation with a physician due to subjectively described side effects. The discontinuation of medication led to a renewed increase in ADHD and obsessive–compulsive symptoms. The readjustment to ER MPH in combination with sertraline and quetiapine thereafter led to a significant improvement in the compulsive symptoms again.Conclusion: The present case shows that in ADHD and comorbid obsessive–compulsive disorder, treatment with psychostimulants can improve the obsessive–compulsive symptoms in addition to the ADHD-specific symptoms. To our knowledge, this is only the second case report describing a treatment with ER MPH for an adult patient with OCD and ADHD comorbidity in the literature. Further research, especially randomized controlled trials, is needed to standardize treatment options.

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