Researchers aren't sure what causes obsessive-compulsive disorder, although genetics seems to play a role in some cases. Someone who is obsessive is plagued by unwanted and persistent feelings to an extent that is obsessive. Someone who is compulsive has an irresistible urge or tendency to repeatedly perform an action such as hand-washing. Obsessions and compulsions can create tremendous anxiety. The types of obsessive-compulsion behaviors that manifest themselves in kids such as washing, arranging and checking are similar to those of adults.
OCD in Children
While young children can be diagnosed with OCD, the condition usually appear between the ages of 10 to 13 or between the late teens into the 20s. As the Brain Physics website explains, not only the kinds of obsessions, but the frequency of those obsessions, are about the same for every age group. However, treatment can be more difficult in kids because of their lack of development. The main form of treatment is counter-intuitive, especially for a child.
Obsessions
Both children and adults can have several types of compulsions in common. As the International OCD Foundation explains, contamination by anything from germs to dirt is one type. Other types include fear of losing control and hurting yourself or others, harming others inadvertently by starting a fire or another careless act, a need to be perfect, and superstitions about lucky or unlucky numbers or certain colors.
Compulsions
Kids and adults with OCD might be compelled to perform certain types of actions. One is a compulsion to wash and clean, including excessive hand-washing, showering or house cleaning. Other types of compulsions range from repeatedly checking that nothing terrible has happened to body movements such as blinking or tapping.
Considerations
While the same types of obsessions and compulsions are generally found among kids and adults, treatment of kids is more difficult because their development lags behind adults. The main treatment for OCD, other than medication, is one form of cognitive behavior therapy known as exposure and response prevention. The therapist confronts the patient with the compulsion or obsession that creates anxiety, then asks the patient not to perform the action he feels compelled to do until the anxiety diminishes. Naturally, it is hard to explain such a therapy to a child, who might not understand why the therapist or a parent wants to raise his anxiety level in the present to ease his OCD symptoms in the future.
