Relationship Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (ROCD) in Iranian culture: Symptoms, causes and consequences

Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (ROCD) is a debilitating disorder that has many negative effects on couples' lives and new researches are focused on this new theme of OCD. The research question was what were the symptoms, causes, and consequences of the ROCD in a sample of Iranian culture?

In the present study, 47 individuals with suspected ROCD were interviewed qualitatively. Also, 10 experts participated to evaluate the categories obtained from qualitative interviews. In-depth Interview, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Research Version (SCID-5-RV), Relationship Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (ROCI), and Partner-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Inventory (PROCSI) were the tools of the present study. Sample individuals were selected from different universities of Tehran such as Tehran University, Shahid Beheshti, Tarbiat Modares, Shahed, Kharazmi, Amirkabir, Sanati Sharif, and Khajeh Nasir in the period 2018 to 2020 based on theoretical and purposeful sampling. The method of analyzing the data obtained from the qualitative interview of the current research was based on grounded theory with a Glazer approach that the results were collected and coded manually.

The results showed that ROCD was the result of three categories of repetitive thoughts about the characteristics of the spouse, repetitive thoughts about the spouse, and repetitive behaviors about the spouse. The underlying factors included obsessive beliefs, environmental conditions, and other disorders, and the revealing factors included environmental driver situations and thought or mental imagery. The short-term consequences included specific thinking, emotion, and behavior; and the long-term consequences included the effect on one's spouse and symptoms of depression and aggression.

Based on the results, it can be said that according to the DSM-5 framework, ROCD was a type of OCD with a relationship theme.