Common Symptom Presentations in Individuals With Probable Comorbid Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are heterogeneous disorders that share common underlying factors, etiology, and symptoms. A small body of literature suggests common OCD symptom presentations may exist for this comorbid group, yet common comorbid PTSD symptom presentations remain unknown. The current study examined common symptom presentations in individuals with probable comorbid OCD + PTSD compared with those with a sole presentation of probable OCD or PTSD, controlling for overlapping symptoms, using a sample of 133 undergraduates. Individuals who exceeded cutoffs for probable OCD + PTSD endorse more severe OCD symptoms overall but report similar levels of PTSD symptoms compared with the respective diagnostic groups. Logistic regressions found that symptom domains present similarly overall in a comorbid presentation compared with the respective diagnostic groups, yet some OCD symptom domains were significantly more severe in the comorbid group compared with individuals with probable PTSD. Explanations for the unique contributions of symptoms are discussed, and clinical recommendations for addressing these domains are provided.