Exposure and response prevention with or without parent management training for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder complicated by disruptive behavior: A multiple-baseline across-responses design study

Comorbidity with disruptive behavior disorders may have important implications for exposure-based cognitive behavioral treatments of children with OCD. Child noncompliance and parent–child conflict may interfere with performance of exposure activities and completion of therapeutic homework assignments, thus diminishing response to treatment. We investigated whether response to exposure and response prevention (ERP) can be enhanced if disruptive behavior is treated first with parent management training (PMT). A multiple-baseline across-responses design was used to investigate the effects of ERP with or without PMT in six children (age range 9–14 years) with OCD and disruptive behavior. Weekly ratings of OCD were conducted for four weeks to establish baseline. After that, children were randomly assigned to receive six weekly sessions of PMT and then twelve weekly sessions of ERP (ERP-plus-PMT condition) or to receive ERP after a six week waiting period (ERP-only condition). The outcome assessments were conducted weekly using the Child Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) administered by an experienced clinician, who was blind to treatment assignment. Three subjects in the ERP-plus-PMT condition evidenced a 39 percent reduction in the CY-BOCS score versus a 10 percent reduction in three subjects in the ERP-only condition. The results of our single-subject study suggest the feasibility and positive effects of combining ERP with PMT for children with OCD complicated by disruptive behavior.

► Disruptive behavior is common in children with OCD and can lead to impairments in adaptive functioning.
► If present, disruptive behavior may interfere with exposure and response prevention for OCD.
► Parent training can be a useful treatment for disruptive behavior in children with OCD.