Protective and risk factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Abstract

The objective of this systematic review is to identify protective and risk factors associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms and OCD, in children and adolescents. It was reviewed the published literature in PsycINFO, Scopus, Medline and ScienceDirect, from 2008 to July 2019. We examined genetic and environmental factors, as well as the role of anxiety sensitivity and positive and negative affectivity. We found protective and risk factors related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms  in the genetic and environmental areas. Although no protective factors were associated  with OCD, some individual biological variables emerged as possible specific risk factors. In addition, high anxiety sensitivity and high negative affectivity were also related to OCD.