Research on teenagers and children shows similar patterns to adults. In a study of high school students with OCD, girls scored higher on depression measures than boys, while boys were more likely to have tic disorders. In a large study of children and teenagers with OCD, boys were twice as likely as girls to have "externalizing disorders" (problems like ADHD or conduct disorder where the person acts out). This matches what we know about mental health in general - girls and women tend to have more "internalizing" problems (like depression and anxiety) while boys and men tend to have more "externalizing" problems (like acting out or substance abuse).

Wesleyan University

Gender seems to affect what other mental health problems people with OCD might have. In one study of adults with OCD, there was no overall difference between men and women in whether they had additional conditions. But men were more likely to have social anxiety, tics, alcohol problems, internet addiction, and sexual disorders. Women were more likely to have specific phobias, eating disorders, hair-pulling, skin-picking, and compulsive shopping. When people filled out questionnaires about their symptoms, women scored higher on measures of depression, anxiety, and OCD symptoms than men. However, a different study of people in the community (not necessarily with diagnosed OCD) found that women were more likely to have alcohol problems, depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, agoraphobia, and specific phobias.

OCD Comorbidity: Gender

Mathes, B.M., Morabito, D.M. & Schmidt, N.B. Epidemiological and Clinical Gender Differences in OCD. Curr Psychiatry Rep 21, 36 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1015-2

Reference for “ Epidemiological and Clinical Gender Differences in OCD”

These different findings might be because the studies looked at different types of people - some studied people diagnosed with OCD in clinics, while others studied random people in the community. Men and women might have different patterns of additional mental health problems depending on how severe their OCD symptoms are and whether they're seeking treatment.

Learn Before

Related