Background: There is a growing interest in designing instruments to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (OCI-CV) has showed to be a valid in the evaluation of OCD in clinical and nonclinical populations. The main goal in this study was to analyze factor structure and psychometric properties of the OCI-CV in a community Spanish sample.
Method: Data were collected from 914 children/adolescents with a mean age of 13.01 (SD = 1.96; Males = 51.3%). Exploratory factor analysis was carried out in order to study the internal structure of the OCI-CV Spanish version. Further, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the total score and the factors obtained were examined. Finally, age and gender differences were also explored.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a similar structure to the original OCI-CV with the following six factors: Washing/Checking, Obsession, Ordering, Doubting, Neutralizing, and Hoarding. The internal consistency was strong for the total score, but moderate for the subscales. The Spanish version of the OCI-CV showed evidences of test-retest reliability and convergent and discriminant validity.
Conclusion: The Spanish version of the OCI-CV is an instrument with adequate psychometric properties to assess obsessions and compulsions in Spanish children/adolescents.