Presentation of the Italian version of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (part II).Convergent validity and specifity of the constructs in a clinical group

The Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ) is a questionnaire developed by the international group Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group (OCCWG) to assess cognitive domains that are considered central in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the first part of this work we have described the Italian validation procedure and have presented some psychometric characteristics of the OBQ-46. In this second part we present the results related to concurrent and discriminant validity of the OBQ-46. The questionnaire was administered to 49 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, 21 patients with other anxiety disorders and to 50 non-clinical controls. Comparison between groups highlights the specificity of the responsibility for harm and for omission in OCD Italian population. In addition, the congruence between OC sub-types and beliefs does not seem entirely confirmed. Results are discussed in terms of future expansion and revision of centrality and specificity of the cognitive constructs related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and the possible existence of higher-order constructs.