Dr. Judith L. Rapoport, a child psychiatrist who brought public awareness to obsessive-compulsive disorder, died on March 7 in Washington D.C. She was 92.

            The disorder had long remained in the shadows because of the shame that surrounded its symptoms, which could include habits like checking and rechecking that appliances were off, performing counting rituals before doing something as simple as walking through a doorway, or scrubbing hands with soap and water until the skin was raw. Dr. Rapoport showed a neurological basis for repetitive thoughts, and also for their linked compulsions or pointless rituals of behavior.

            In addition to research on obsessive-compulsive disorder, Dr. Rapoport oversaw influential studies that shed light on attention deficit hyper activity disorder and childhood-onset schizophrenia.