Behavioral treatment of childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Old tiny case studies said behavioral help for child OCD was hit-or-miss; newer group ERP gives steadier, stronger results.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors looked at every small case report they could find on kids with OCD. They wanted to see if behavioral treatments helped.
All studies were tiny. Most had only one child. The team wrote a story-style review, not a number-crunching meta.
What they found
Results were all over the map. Some kids got a little better. Some did not change. No clear winner treatment stood out.
Because the studies were so small, the authors could only say the benefits were modest and inconsistent.
How this fits with other research
Schertz et al. (2018) ran a tight 5-day group ERP program and saw medium-to-large drops in OCD. Their newer method gives stronger, steadier gains than the scattered case reports R et al. saw in 1988.
Reaven et al. (2003) stretched CBT into autism. One 7-year-old with Asperger’s made big gains after six months. This single case shows tailored CBT can work when the 1988 review said results were shaky.
Matson et al. (2009) echoed the same worry for kids with IDD: we still lack solid behavioral protocols. The message from 1988—do more research—remains true decades later.
Why it matters
If you treat childhood OCD today, lean on newer manuals, not the old one-child stories. Use group ERP formats or tailor CBT for autism. Keep measuring progress weekly so you know early if the plan works.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Map a 5-day ERP mini-schedule with daily exposure tasks and reward chart.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although long recognized in the clinical literature, obsessive-compulsive disorder in children has not received the attention given to the disorder in adults. There have been few reports of behavioral treatments with children, and the existing literature is composed largely of case studies employing one or more behavioral techniques as part of a treatment package. Most reports demonstrate a positive effect, but no treatment has demonstrated superiority, and the general outcome effect is much less than optimistic. The role of etiology, of epidemiology, of families in treatment, and of associated conditions are reviewed, and considerations for future investigations are offered.
Behavior modification, 1988 · doi:10.1177/01454455880122005