Mental health stigma in Latin American youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an impairing mental health condition that affects individuals across the lifespan. Some literature has evaluated mental health stigma in adults with OCD but limited attention has been given to youth, as well as those of Latino ancestry. The present study reported the extent of stigma experiences among Latin American youth with OCD, as well as examined sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates. 235 youth with clinician confirmed diagnoses of OCD from 10 North and South American countries completed questionnaires assessing stigma experiences, symptomatology, and functioning. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were also collected. The average OCD stigma response corresponded to a frequency rating of “rarely” (M=16.4 on an 8 to 40 possible range), though 42.1% of the sample endorsed experiencing at least one stigma-related item “often” or greater. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that depressive symptomatology was the strongest predictor of stigma, with no sociodemographic or clinical variables independently associated with stigma. Additional regression analyses revealed that stigma was uniquely associated with higher clinician-rated OCD symptom severity and higher parent-rated impact of OCD, but stigma did not independently associate with youth-rated quality of life. Findings highlight that stigma related concerns affect many Latin American youth with OCD, with links to worse psychological health.