Is There a Difference Between OCD and OCPD?

Although obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have overlapping traits, they also differ. In OCPD, thoughts and behaviors are ego-syntonic, and perfectionism and self-control are more pronounced than in OCD. To indirectly assess impulsivity, which is characterized by an inability to defer immediate reward, these investigators measured delay discounting (the tendency to delay rapid gratification in favor of future reward; NEJM JW Psychiatry Apr 13 2012) in 25 patients with OCD without OCPD, 25 patients with OCPD without OCD, 25 patients with both disorders, and 25 healthy controls.

Impairment of psychosocial functioning and quality of life was similar in the three patient groups. Delay discou…