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Jonathan Abramowitz, professor and associate chair of psychology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s College of Arts and Sciences, is the founding editor of the new Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.

The quarterly journal will be published by Elsevier, a provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and almost 20,000 book titles.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, commonly referred to as OCD, has intrigued the medical and mental health fields since the disorder was first identified by Freud more than a century ago. Although researchers have made crucial advances in understanding and treating OCD over the past half century, questions remain regarding the causes, nature and boundaries with other seemingly similar mental disorders.

Abramowitz said the new journal will address issues such as improving the understanding of OCD in the elderly and the very young, how the disorders are influenced by ethnic and cultural factors and how to prevent them.

“My vision is to create an international and interdisciplinary forum to foster communication and collaboration across the various clinical and academic fields concerned with OCD,” said Abramowitz, whose research focuses on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders, especially OCD. He also is director of the UNC Anxiety and Stress Disorders Clinic.

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it