International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 10, pp 3050-3057 October 2023 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews Journal homepage: www.ijrpr.com ISSN 2582-7421 Investigating the Levels of Obsessiveness of Selected Filipino Students in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic Dr. Frederick Edward T. Fabella FEU Roosevelt, Cainta, Rizal, Philippines ABSTRACT Numerous studies have revealed that the mental health of people around the world, and especially of students suffered in various ways due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-depth review of published literature revealed that there is a dearth of studies concerning obsessive-compulsive symptoms among Filipinos especially during or after the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic. In view of the foregoing, this study attempted to explore the obsessive-compulsive levels of selected adult students in the Philippines. 85 students were conveniently sampled from various schools. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory short version or OCI- R was administered on the respondents. When the respondents are grouped according to sex or presence of a romantic commitment, no significant differences were found. This implies that for the respondents of the study, sex and presence of romantic commitment do not influence their obsessiveness self-report scores. However, the author of the OCI-R had set an individual score of above 20 as the cut off for recommending that a person seek further professional testing and diagnosis. 73 or 85.88% of the respondents obtained scores of 21 and above. This means that as recommended by the author of the OCI-R, the vast majority of the respondents who obtained such scores should undergo further testing by a mental health professional. Keywords: Obsession, compulsion, obsessive-compulsive, OCI-R, OCD INTRODUCTION Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness characterized by recurrent thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). They obstruct one’s life, yet the individual has no power to stop or control them. People who have a first-degree relative who has OCD, such as a parent, sibling, or kid, are at a higher risk. This is particularly valid if the relative experienced OCD as a young kid or adolescent. According to imaging studies, the brains of OCD sufferers differ in a few specific areas. OCD and childhood abuse or trauma have also been linked in several researches 1 . Obsessions with OCD are intrusive, recurrent, unwelcome thoughts, desires, or visions that are distressing or anxious. Obsessional symptoms and signs include, for instance, the following: (1) apprehension about touching objects that others have touched; (2) uncertainty that the door is locked or the stove is off; (3) extreme stress when things aren't in their proper places or facing the right direction; (4) visions of ramming your car into a crowd of people; (5) thoughts of shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately in public; (6) unpleasant sexual images; and (7) avoidance of situations that can set off obsessions 2 . Compulsions consist of a strong need to engage in repetitive behavior, which becomes regular, and time-consuming for someone with OCD. The actions could start to resemble rituals. Examples include: (1) washing and cleaning, including handwashing; (2) keeping an eye on bodily symptoms; (3) repeating daily tasks, such getting up from a chair; and (4) mental compulsions, like constantly thinking about an incident 3 . Another study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical students to see if anxiety of unfavorable events affected their Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores. The results show that dread of the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to a higher Y-BOCS score, indicating that an interaction between the environment (the COVID-19 pandemic) and psychology (fear and/or anxiety) may be implicated in OCD and that a fear of bad things may contribute to the etiology of OCD 4 . A study involving 804 university students in Turkey was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of OCD. The findings revealed that the incidence of OCD was higher among the university students than in studies conducted in other social sectors or communities in Turkish society. It further suggests that sociodemographic and environmental stress factors played a role in the higher incidence of OCD 5 . The Maudsley Inventory responses from 692 university students in an Iranian study revealed that 34.2% had results that might indicate OCD. Obsessive- review OCD (11.4%), obsessive-washing OCD (10.1%), and uncertainty OCD (27.5%) were the three kinds of OCD with the highest rankings 6 . In 2020, a cross-sectional analytical study was carried out among Iraqi medical students. The information was gathered through the use of an online, anonymous, voluntary, and self-administered questionnaire based on the OCI-R's 18 items. 707 people (43%) show possible OCD symptoms that require