Checkers and washers: valid subtypes of obsessive compulsive disorder.

The current study aimed to examine sociodemographic and clinical variables between washer and checker subgroups of obsessive compulsive disorder. Of 412 subjects seen during 1975-1984, there were 123 washers, 70 checkers and 89 washers and checkers (mixed group). Checkers were more likely to be single and male and have an earlier age of onset and consultation; if married the illness was more likely to have started prior to marriage. The mixed group appeared to be a female-dominated pathoplastic variant of the checkers group. The current study suggests that other variables should also be explored in differentiating these disorders.