Impaired Executive Function in Everyday Life: A Predictor of OCD Relapse?

Objectives: In the present study, we set out to establish whether executive function in everyday life is impaired in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, and if it is more impaired (or not) in patients who relapsed after cognitive behavioural therapy than in treatment-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. Method: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function— Adult Version (BRIEF-A) was used to measure executive function in everyday life in three groups of 19 participants: treatment-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorderpatients, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients having relapsed after CBT, and healthy controls. Results: The BRIEF-A results revealed an impairment in executive function in the treatment-naïve and relapsed obsessive-compulsive disorder groups, relative to the healthy control group. There was no significant difference in executive function between the two groups of patients. Conclusions: These results show that impaired executive function is not associated with relapse in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder having undergone cognitive behavioural therapy.