Self-esteem and obsessive compulsive disorder

Objective: To explore the association between self-esteem and obsessive compulsive disorder in a low-income country, and to conduct an in-depth analysis into the said relationship by identifying any confounding variables that might exist. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the psychiatry out-patient clinic of Civil Hospital, Karachi, from January to March 2008, and comprised 65 patients diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and 30 healthy controls. The participatnts completed the Janis and Field Social Adequacy scale and the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Significantly different scores were reported on both measures of self-esteem between the patients and the controls (p<0.001 each), indicating reduced levels of self-esteem in the patients compared to the controls. Conclusions: Data replicated earlier findings from populations in high-income countries.