A comparison of trichotillomania and obsessive-compulsive disorder

The validity of conceptualizing trichotillomania (TCM) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as separate and distinct diagnoses was examined in a study of 20 patients with each disorder. A comparison of demographic, psychometric, and clinical features between the two groups revealed a number of statistically significant differences. Patients me ting the criteria for OCD scored higher on measures of psychiatric symptomatology including ratings of obsessions and compulsions, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, general anxiety, phobic anxiety, and psychoticism. Patients meeting the criteria for TCM reported an earlier age at onset than those with OCD. Stressors associated with onset were also significantly different between groups. These results support the validity of conceptualizing TCM and OCD as differing behavioral disorders. KEY WORDS: trichotillomania; obsessive-compulsive disorder; diagnosis. INTRODUC~ON Trichotillomania (TCM) is characterized by repetitive hair plucking. Scalp hair is the most common site for plucking but eyebrows, pubic hair, and other body hair may also be pulled out (Friman, Finney, & Chriso-1portions of this paper were presented at the nnual meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (March 1992) in Dallas, TX, and at he annual meeting of th