Authors: Giampaolo Perna, Paolo Cavedini, Silvia Daccò, Valentino Di Chiaro, Giuliana Salomoni, Daniela Caldirola .
For : 18th Congress of the Italian Society of Psychopathology, Turin 12-15 February 2014

Summary: Obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD ) is associated with a decline in functional relationships and working . This impairment has been so far attributed to the severity of clinical symptoms, but the impairment of frontal functions, shown in patients with OCD, may affect their disability in everyday life. To test this hypothesis, we retrospectively studied the impact of cognitive functioning on the achievement of social and working aims in a group of 81 subjects with OCD, hospitalized at Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital. From medical records we selected the following variables: neuropsychological performance assessed with standardized battery test them ( verbal memory / visual , visual- constructional skills and understanding, frontal functions , such as attention and language production), disease severity (Y- BOCS ), presence / absence of stable relationships for family, employment, ability to live independently. The results show that the poor performance of speech production and reduced attentional skills are associated respectively to a failure to achieve independent living and employment. The level of clinical severity does not seem to affect the achievement of social and working aims .
These preliminary data highlight the role of executive functions in the achievement of social and working in subjects with OCD