Behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsives: inpatient vs outpatient

The effects of 5.4 months of inpatient behavioral treatment and of 20 sessions of outpatient behavioral therapy were studied in a quasi-experimental design with 22 inpatient and 43 outpatient obsessive-compulsives. Within each group there was a significant drop in scores on the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory after the therapy. Even after controlling-through covariance analysis-for initial differences between groups, no differences emerged between inpatient and outpatient treatment effects. Considering the clinical and economical relevance of the issue, and acknowledging the quasiexperimental nature of the present study, it is argued that controlled tests are justified.