Can selective attention and inhibition (interactively) predict future obsessive compulsive symptoms? A prospective study

Abstract

Background and objectivesThe current study set out to investigate whether obsessive beliefs, selective attention, inhibition, and the interaction between selective attention and inhibition can prospectively predict contamination obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms. MethodsObsessive beliefs, inhibition, and selective attention were assessed in a student sample (n = 89) during a baseline session in the beginning of the first semester. Their predictive value was examined by assessing symptoms after an OC symptom induction in the lab and by assessing OC symptoms during a period of increased stress (the examination period) 68–80 days after baseline. ResultsResults showed that obsessive beliefs did not consistently predict OC symptoms and there was no predictive effect of attentional bias, attentional bias variability, and inhibition in isolation. However, attentional bias variability and inhibition in the context of contamination-related stimuli interacted, in which only the combination of poor inhibition and large attentional bias variability predicted contamination OC symptoms during the examination period. LimitationsFuture research should investigate whether similar results are found in clinical populations, as the current sample consisted of a convenience sample of undergraduate students. ConclusionThese results support the notion that information processing biases interact in predicting contamination OC symptoms.