STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS AT THE ONSET OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

The objective was to analyze the importance of experiencing a stressful life event(SLE) associated with the onset of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A group of 85 OCD patients were interviewed to assess the occurrence and characteristics of SLEs previous to the onset of the disorder. Up to 70.6% informed at least one SLE. The 66.1% of them appraised the event as negative, the 80.7% as very important, and the 79.3% as very influential in their disorder. Comorbid depressive symptoms, a lower age at the onset, and the reactive subtype obsessions were associated with the different SLE's variables. The influence of the SLE on the disorder was associated with a negative appraisal. The SLE was not related to the therapeutical response.