The price of love: an investigation into the relationship between romantic love and the expression of obsessive–compulsive disorder

Abstract

Background The present study explored the influence of romantic love on the expression of several obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) characteristics, including symptom severity, symptom dimensions, age at onset, sensory phenomena (SP), and developmental course, as well as other related comorbid disorders. It was hypothesized that love-precipitated OCD would be associated with a set of distinct characteristics and exhibit greater rates of comorbid disorders. Methods The analyses were performed using a large sample (n = 981) of clinical patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD (Females = 67.3%, M age = 35.31). Results Love-precipitated OCD was associated with greater severity of SP and later age at onset of obsessions. However, symptom severity, symptom dimension, developmental course, and psychiatric comorbidities were not associated with love-precipitated OCD. Conclusion It was concluded that romantic love does shape the expression of OCD, especially with regard to SP and onset age. These findings encourage further exploration to determine its clinical significance as a phenotype.