Do Parental Reports of Routinized and Compulsive-Like Behaviours Decline with Child’s Age?: A Brief Report of a Follow-Up Study

Background: Routinized and compulsive-like behaviours are very common in young children; however, previous studies have shown inconsistent results as to the age such behaviours decline. Another issue concerns any association with later Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Method: Related measures longitudinal design: We compared parent ratings of children over a 6 year period. The sample consisted of 109 children (aged 8 to 18 years, 62 males). Measures were of routinized and compulsive-like behaviours, OCD behaviours, worries and fears. Results: Routinized behaviours decreased significantly over the 6 year period, but not for children reported to have difficulties. OCD behaviours increased significantly with 31% of the sample having above threshold scores; however, only one child in the sample had an OCD diagnosis. There were significant correlations between CRI, OCD and fear and worry scores. Conclusion: We confirmed the view that anxiety reduction is one of the functions of routinized behaviours. A small number of children had high scores on routinized behaviours and the OCD measure, but there was only 1 diagnosis of OCD in the sample. This suggests that they may be part of the typical distribution of such behaviours.