A study conducted on thousands of patients in six countries, including Turkey, by scientists from Erzurum Atatürk University in Turkey, John Hopkins University in the U.S., Roma University in Italy, Barcelona University in Spain and Lund University in Sweden, revealed that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is caused by "doubt control."

The study focused on children and adolescents as the first symptoms of the disorder manifests itself in the early lives of the patients. It was discovered that OCD is not caused by obsessions formed in childhood but the feeling of doubt and inability to control it.

The study also revealed that Turkish children are under more risk to develop this disorder than the five other countries involved in the research. Moreover, girls have been discovered to develop OCD more than the boys.

Commenting on the study, associate professor İsmail Seçer said that the methods of bringing up children play an important role in the development of OCD in children and continued, "Our study showed that dominating, over protective and perfectionist parents trigger OCD symptoms in children. The results in Turkey are far more distinctive than the other countries and we believe that it is closely related to psycho-social factors."

The results of the study have been published on The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.