Anhedonia, depression, and symptom severity in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract Background Anhedonia, the diminished capacity to experience pleasure, is a transdiagnostic symptom increasingly studied in various psychiatric conditions. While recognized in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), its unique relationship with OCD severity, independent of comorbid depression, remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anhedonia in individuals with OCD, its association with OCD symptom severity, and whether this association persists after controlling for depressive symptoms. Methods 227 adult participants with a primary or co-primary OCD diagnosis completed self-report measures for anhedonia, OCD severity, and depressive symptoms. Hypothesis-driven and exploratory analyses included descriptive statistics, hierarchical multiple linear regression, and group comparisons. Results Clinically significant anhedonia was found in 14.5% of the sample, though mean anhedonia levels were generally low ( M = 0.96, SD = 1.79). A significant positive correlation was initially observed between anhedonia and OCD severity ( r = .148, p = .027). However, in a hierarchical regression model, while depressive symptoms significantly predicted OCD severity ( β = 0.602, p < .001), anhedonia did not explain unique variance (ΔR² < .001, p = .931) after controlling for depression. Conclusions General anhedonia is present in a subset of individuals with OCD and shows an initial correlation with OCD severity. However, this relationship appears to be largely accounted for by comorbid depressive symptoms. These findings underscore the critical importance of controlling for depression when researching OCD, as well as targeting depression when delivering evidence-based interventions for OCD.