Children with obsessive compulsive disorder

摘要

Obsessive compulsive disorder in young people is common and under-recognised. Estimated prevalence rates in children and adolescents are about 1%. The distress to young people caused by the characteristic intrusive, unwanted, and often unpleasant thoughts or fears is often hidden, as children identify these symptoms as peculiar or embarrassing and keep them secret, sometimes for years. Likewise, compulsive behaviours such as washing or checking are usually perceived as unnecessary and often ridiculous, and children may go to great lengths to conceal them.