Examination of racial differences in assessment of OCD symptoms and obsessive beliefs

• Examined scores on OCD-relevant measures in a racially diverse student sample.
• Replicated and extended previous work focused on narrower groups.
• Identified numerous mean-level differences, with consistency across measures.
• Asian and Black students scored consistently higher than other students.

The study of diversity issues within psychopathology is challenging, yet essential. Regarding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), research has demonstrated elevations in symptom endorsement across specific racial and ethnic groups. However, these differences do not consistently reflect increased distress or impairment. A limitation is that the majority of research in this area compares only Black and White participants; the present study sought to extend this literature by examining a large, broadly diverse student sample consisting of 205 Asian, 669 Black, 318 Hispanic, and 1247 White participants. We targeted three OCD symptom questionnaires and a measure of OC beliefs; we also examined the associations among OCD symptoms, OC beliefs, and general distress. Results were that both Asian and Black participants scored significantly higher than White participants on most OCD-relevant measures; however, Asian participants scored significantly higher than Black participants on several measures. In contrast with some prior research, OCD symptoms correlated moderately positively with general distress across all groups studied. These findings highlight the limitation of comparing only Black and White individuals, and underscore the importance of broad inclusion in such research.