Laura M. Simonds

The relationship between disgust sensitivity, anxiety and obsessions

Three hundred participants, including volunteers from an obsessional support group, filled in questionnaires relating to disgust sensitivity, health anxiety, anxiety, fear of death, fear of contamination and obsessionality as part of an investigation into the involvement of disgust sensitivity in types of obsessions. Overall, the data supported the hypothesis that a relationship does exist between disgust sensitivity and the targeted variables. A significant predictive relationship was found between disgust sensitivity and total scores on the obsessive compulsive inventory (OCI; Psychological Assessment 10 (1998) 206) for both frequency and distress of symptomatology. Disgust sensitivity scores were significantly related to health anxiety scores and general anxiety scores and to all the obsessional subscales, with the exception of hoarding. Additionally, multiple regression analyses revealed that disgust sensitivity may be more specifically related to washing compulsions: frequency of washing behaviour was best predicted by disgust sensitivity scores. Washing distress scores were best predicted by health anxiety scores, though disgust sensitivity entered in the second model. It is suggested that further research on the relationship between disgust sensitivity and obsessionality could be helpful in refining the theoretical understanding of obsessions.

Attitudes toward obsessive-compulsive disorders--an experimental investigation.

Abstract.Background: Fear, embarrassment and stigma are salient factors contributing to reluctance to seek help for psychological distress. Although vignette studies have often been employed to assess attitudes towards psychological disorders, no study has specifically assessed attitudes towards Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Methods: An experimental study assessing attitudes toward obsessive-compulsive problems is presented. One hundred and thirteen undergraduate students were given vignettes describing three subtypes of obsessive-compulsive problem (harming, washing and checking). They were asked to make judgements about fear, shame and social acceptance, and to evaluate how they themselves might feel if they experienced the problems described in the vignettes. Results: The obsessive-compulsive problems described in the vignettes were evaluated differently in terms of shame, fear and social acceptance. The harming problems were rated as being the most unacceptable, followed by the washing behaviour, and then the checking behaviour. Conclusion: The findings suggest that attitudes to obsessive-compulsive problems are likely to be complex and that help-seeking influences may vary across the different subtypes of this disorder. The implications for people seeking help for obsessive-compulsive problems are pointed out.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: Parental understanding, accommodation, coping and distress

Parental accommodation of pediatric OCD is common and is associated with negative affect in parents. Qualitative accounts of caring for a child with OCD are limited and no studies have assessed differences between mothers and fathers in accommodation, coping and distress. The current study used a mixed methods approach to understand parental accommodation, negative affect and coping. Forty-one mothers and 29 fathers of 43 children with OCD were asked to write narratives about their understanding and management of OCD and to complete measures of accommodation, coping, and distress. Symptom accommodation was high with almost half of the parents watching the child complete rituals or waiting for the child on a daily basis. Analysis of parental narratives indicated a distressing struggle between engaging in and resisting accommodation in order to manage their own and their childs anger and distress. T-tests and correlation analysis indicated that accommodation did not differ significantly between mothers and fathers but was more strongly associated with negative affect in mothers. Analyses indicated that mothers reported using all types of coping strategy more often than fathers, particularly escape-avoidance, taking responsibility and using social support. Escape-avoidance coping was positively correlated with accommodation and negative affect in both mothers and fathers. Interventions that target parental constructions of OCD and their behavioural and emotional responses to it may assist in reducing the occurrence of accommodation, avoidant coping and parental distress.

OCD patients and non-patient groups reporting obsessions and compulsions: phenomenology, help-seeking, and access to treatment.

This article offers a preliminary examination of factors that may be important to seeking help and receiving treatment for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Community studies typically reveal individuals who display significant obsessive-compulsive symptomatology. Such individuals are often used in analogue research that attempts to understand various symptom dimensions and associated characteristics relevant to clinical obsessional states. This article questions why, if these non-patient groups are sufficiently similar to patients in terms of phenomenology, there should exist a disparity in treatment status. This question is addressed in the following way: first, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and associated features that may be central to help-seeking are considered in both patient and non-patient groups. A central argument in this part of the article is that cross-study phenomenological comparisons are hindered by diversity in research selection criteria. Secondly, general factors that may be considered important to help-seeking for psychological distress are considered, as too are those factors that may be applied to the consideration of help-seeking for obsessive-compulsive problems specifically. Finally, the implications of these issues in the literature for research and clinical practice are considered.

Catholic priests’ conceptualisation of scrupulosity: a grounded theory analysis

Scrupulosity is a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder concerned with religious themes. It is unclear how religious leaders understand scrupulosity, the support they offer, or how they view collaboration with mental health practitioners. This study was designed to address these issues. Eleven Catholic priests took part in a semi-structured interview based on a vignette describing a person with scrupulosity. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Priests understood scrupulosity as a psychological problem that they felt unqualified to deal with but for which they could offer spiritual guidance. Scrupulous individuals were perceived as difficult to develop a supportive relationship with and were sometimes a challenge to priests’ emotional well-being. Collaborative working between priests and mental health services was suggested as a way to address these issues, although priests recognised some difficulties in implementing this. Further research, with other religious groups and with people with scrupulosity, would be beneficial in order to expand the current conceptual framework.

Relationships between magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness and other forms of anxiety in a sample of non-clinical children

Despite the obvious phenomenological similarities between magical thinking and obsessive-compulsiveness, the relationship between them has been the subject of few empirical investigations in samples of children. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between a general epistemic stance towards magical causation and tendencies towards obsessive-compulsiveness in a non-clinical sample of schoolchildren. One-hundred and two children, aged between 5 and 10 years (48 boys and 54 girls), completed questionnaire measures designed to assess magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness, and other forms of anxiety. School teachers completed a measure of strengths and difficulties for each child. General belief in magical causation was correlated with all types of anxiety, not just obsessive-compulsiveness, with significant correlations shown for boys in the sample, but not girls. General belief in magical causation contributed little to the prediction of obsessive-compulsiveness beyond general anxiety. In this study, a general epistemic stance towards magical causation did not differentiate obsessive-compulsiveness from other anxiety dimensions. The findings are considered in the context of developmental theories of magical and scientific causal reasoning.

The Relationship between Co-rumination and Internalizing Problems: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Co-rumination refers to the process of engaging in repeated discussion of personal problems in dyadic relationships. The current systematic review and meta-analysis provided an evaluation of the relationship between co-rumination and internalizing problems in children, adolescents and young adults, along with an investigation of potential moderator variables. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they quantitatively assessed the relationship between co-rumination and depression, anxiety and/or internalizing problems using validated measures. An electronic search was conducted in PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Medline, Scopus and the Cochrane Library database of systematic reviews for studies published since 2002. In addition, unpublished studies were located by contacting authors in the field and by online searches of dissertation databases. Thirty-eight studies were deemed eligible for inclusion comprising a total of 12 829 community-based participants. A random-effects model was employed in the analysis, and effect sizes were obtained exclusively from cross-sectional data. Small to moderate effect sizes were found across four outcomes representing internalizing problems (mean corrected correlation range 0.14 to 0.26), with no significant variability across these variables. Female participants were found to score significantly higher on measures of co-rumination compared with males (d = -0.55). Moderator analyses revealed mixed findings. No significant effects were found for age, gender or publication status. A significant effect was found for co-rumination questionnaire version used (p = 0.05), and a marginal effect found for co-rumination partner (same-sex best friend versus other confidants; p = 0.08). These findings indicate that co-rumination may have a modest but significant association with internalizing problems. The implications of these findings and directions for further research are discussed. Copyright

Elephants, Donuts and Hamburgers: Young Children Co-operating To Co-operate and Co-operating To Compete in Two Primary Schools.

A total of 152 5-6-year-old schoolchildren worked alone or in groups, cooperatively within groups or competing against another group, over 4 weeks. New measures allowed us to consider their preferences for collective or individualistic styles. Three factors: individualism/collectivism, sociability and altruism were identified. The first two were found to be stable over time; the third changed and was related to whether the children worked co-operatively or competitively. Differences were found in collectivism/individualism. Girls (particularly older girls) preferred working co-peratively significantly more than boys at Time 1; however, this decreased over time for girls, whilst boys became less individualistic over time. Younger children scored significantly less than older children on a sociability factor, but this increased significantly over time compared to the older children—artificially in the group co-operative condition. Findings are discussed in light of curriculum and pedagogy of primary schools and social psychological research with children.

A narrative analysis investigating the impact of first episode psychosis on siblings’ identity

Research investigating the impact and experience of first episode psychosis amongst siblings is limited. This study reports the findings of a narrative analysis of the accounts of four siblings, two male and two female, aged between 17 and 24 years, of young people with a first episode of psychosis. The aim of the analysis was to explore the impact of this experience on siblings’ sense of self and their identity development and the roles they adopt within their families. The analysis focused on the core narrative, tone and genre of each account as well as providing a cross-case analysis. This cross-case analysis indicated an overarching genre of “rite of passage” within which a gender difference was interpreted. The emphasis in the accounts of the two young women was on finding personal meaning whereas, for the two young men, the emphasis was on taking up responsibilities. As found in other studies of serious mental health problems, siblings provide much direct and indirect care for their families. The implications for services providing support to siblings and families in early intervention services are discussed.

Therapist self-disclosure and the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of eating problems

ABSTRACT Evidence is mixed regarding the potential utility of therapist self-disclosure. The current study modelled relationships between perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures, therapeutic alliance, patient non-disclosure, and shame in participants (n = 120; 95% women) with a history of eating problems. Serial multiple mediator analyses provided support for a putative model connecting the perceived helpfulness of therapist self-disclosures with current eating disorder symptom severity through therapeutic alliance, patient self-disclosure, and shame. The analyses presented provide support for the contention that therapist self-disclosure, if perceived as helpful, might strengthen the therapeutic alliance. A strong therapeutic alliance, in turn, has the potential to promote patient disclosure and reduce shame and eating problems.