Everyday executive functioning in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: diagnostic specificity, clinical correlations, and outcome

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) typically onsets during childhood or adolescence and difficulties with executive functioning (EF) may be involved in its onset and maintenance. Yet, few studies have examined everyday EF difficulties in youth with OCD and no study has compared EF in youth with OCD to EF in youth with anxiety disorders, leaving the diagnostic specificity of EF unclear. METHODS: In this study, parents of treatment-seeking children and adolescents with OCD (n = 96, M(age) = 13.3, SD = 2.7, 59% girls) or anxiety disorders (n = 67, M(age) = 14.0, SD = 2.6, 78% girls) reported on their children’s everyday EF using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) measure. RESULTS: Compared to community youth, the two clinical groups showed moderately elevated EF deficits but did not differ significantly from each other. EF deficits were not associated with the major symptom dimensions of OCD, age of OCD symptom onset, duration of OCD symptoms, and OCD severity, and did not predict treatment outcome in OCD. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to peers, youth with OCD show moderate difficulties with EF, but very similar difficulties are seen in youth with anxiety disorders, and it is unclear whether these difficulties are of clinical relevance. Among youth with OCD, EF difficulties were not differentially associated with the major symptom dimensions of OCD, which is inconsistent with findings from adults. Difficulties with EF did not predict treatment outcome, indicating that integrating EF modules into OCD treatment may be of limited value, although EF may be important for treatment planning in individual cases. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-023-05111-1.