OCD rapoport (1989) Flashcards
(6 cards)
case history
charles age 12 obsessed that smth sticky on skin
spending 3 hrs at a time in the shower
months of behavioural therapy and various medications
he began seeing rapoport at 14
described him as open appreciative and friendly
before onset of disorder he had been doing well at school esp in bio
stopped going symptoms bad
washing took up too much time cant concentrate on school
mother tried to help by cleaning house
visitors asked to wash hands so no contamination
eventually no visitors
father found wife and sons behaviour difficult
coped by working longer hours
symptoms
obsessed w stickiness called it terrible and some kind of disease
worst thing was touching honey
washed for 3 hrs at a a time, soap from one hand to another after certain amount of time passed
general slowness w daily routine
dressing takes 2 hrs
distressed when rapoport said do EEG
sticky paste on scalp
stayed up washing all night after EEG
sad because sisters and other kids called him crazy
symptoms
charles was obsessed w stickiness and called it ‘terrible’ and ‘some kind of disease’
worst thing he could think of was touching honey
washed for three hours at a time
eg passing soap from one hand to the other after certain amount of time had been passed
showed general slowness with daily routines such as dressing which could take two hours
became distressed when rapoport explained that she wanted to do EEG which would involve putting sticky paste on his scalp
he stayed up washing all night after the EEG
charles was sad because his sisters and other children would call him crazy
treatment
charles was given clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant
helped in the short term
within a month charles was able to pour and touch honey
one year later he relapsed
had become tolerant to the drug
needed increasingly large doses to produce the same effect
his symptoms returned although in a more manageable way
STRENGTH
VALIDITY
Interviewing Charles allowed for qualitative data, increasing validity as he explained his experiences in his own words (e.g., washing prevented “sickness” or “bad luck”) rather than just ticking boxes.
WEAKNESS
GENERALISABILITY
Only based on one 14-year-old; OCD symptoms change with age (e.g., younger kids repeat actions, adults ruminate), so findings might differ if Rapoport studied someone older or younger.
