- Obsessional slowness comprises three factors: perfectionism, mental compulsivity and bradykinetic features, identified by exploratory factor analysis.
- Soft catatonic signs and perfectionism independently predict OSS severity; categorical OCD diagnosis did not predict OS severity.
- OS is a quantifiable, clinically meaningful, transdiagnostic phenomenon across the OCRDS with dimensional links to the catatonic spectrum.
Compr Psychiatry. 2026 Aug 27;150:152743. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152743. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Obsessional slowness (OS) is a controversial clinical construct whose defining feature is a disabling degree of motor slowness. The present study examined OS in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (n = 50) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) (n = 30) using the newly developed Obsessional Slowness Scale (OSS) alongside other clinical and psychometric measures. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure underlying OS comprising perfectionism, mental compulsivity, and bradykinetic features. In multivariable regression analyses, both “soft” catatonic signs, as assessed by a catatonia rating scale, and perfectionism traits, as measured by the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), independently predicted OSS scores. Notably, the categorical diagnosis of OCD did not emerge as an independent predictor of OS severity. Taken together, these findings support the view that OS is a quantifiable and clinically meaningful phenomenon that is not reducible to OCD diagnosis alone. Rather, OS may be more appropriately conceptualized as a transdiagnostic condition within the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders spectrum (OCRDS), exhibiting close phenomenological and dimensional links to the catatonic spectrum.
PMID:42667766 | DOI:10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152743
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