Benefits of Planning as an emotion regulation strategy in obsessions and compulsions (OC): Implication of the perfectionism level in the Planning-OC relationship

Abstract

Obsessions and compulsions are characteristics of obsessive and compulsive (OC) disorders and are present to various extents in the population. Such symptoms were associated with difficulties in regulating the emotions triggered by the obsessions, which induce compulsions and use of maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies. The present work gives an overview of the use of different ER strategies in all-comers presenting various levels of OC symptoms, with a focus onto the benefits of “Planning”, an adaptive ER strategy that shares common backgrounds with several obsessions, such as perfectionism, which was also explored. University students (N = 248) completed online questionnaires. The findings confirmed a positive relationship between OC symptoms and difficulties in ER and use of maladaptive ER strategies. Planning was negatively correlated with OC symptoms while perfectionism was positively associated with both OC symptoms and the use of Planning, which lowers the beneficial prospects of Planning implementation in sub-clinical obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Hoarding not being associated with perfectionism, this particular symptom could however directly benefit from Planning. Altogether, this study highlights the importance of considering individualities in the efficiency of different ER strategies and provides potential benefits of Planning, a strategy that is likely to help alleviating OC symptoms, and particularly that of hoarding.