Obsessive compulsive disorder and depression change in a residential setting with the added role of quality of life.

Co-occurring depression is a common aspect of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) presentation, however, there are mixed conclusions on how depression influences treatment outcomes. Many studies lack accounting for temporal precedence, and do not account for both within person and between-person effects. This study utilizes a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model to examine changes in OCD and depression over the course of intensive/residential treatment for OCD in a sample of 311 adults. We build on past research by including quality of life in the model as well. Autoregressive paths reflected OCD symptoms predicting future OCD symptoms across time, and depression symptoms predicting future depression symptoms in the context of treatment. Contrary to past research on OCD and depression, there were no significant cross-lagged effects in either model except for a positive relationship between quality of life at week 1 and OCD at week 2. Limitations include constraints on generalizability given the unique nature of the study sample and patient population from which it is drawn. Future studies examining the nature of the relationship between OCD and depression with newer statistical models, examining other constructs involved in the OCD and depression relationship, and utilizing holistic and recovery-focused outcome measures are indicated based on these findings.