Is Trichotillomania a Stereotypic Movement Disorder? An Analysis of Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors in People with Hair-Pulling

This study is limited by its self-report nature, and by the lack of detailed information on the phenomenology of comorbid BFRBs. While further nosological research is needed, the high rates of these behaviors in people with hair-pulling, and their association with increased disability, is consistent with previous clinical observations, and supports the argument that trichotillomania can usefully be conceptualized as a stereotypic disorder. Speculatively, this argument may be especially valid in trichotillomania patients with more focused hair-pulling symptoms.