Devils, witches, and psychics: The role of thought-action fusion in the relationships between obsessive-compulsive features, religiosity, and paranormal beliefs

Abstract

Research suggests that religiosity is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Moreover, one previous study found that paranormal beliefs are associated with OCD. It is currently unclear whether these relationships are independent of one another and what mechanisms may underlie them. The objectives of this study were to determine whether religiosity and paranormal beliefs are uniquely related to various features of OCD and whether moral thought action fusion (TAF-M) and/or likelihood thought-action fusion (TAF-L) mediate these relationships. A cross-sectional design was used in which 801 students completed measures of religiosity, paranormal beliefs, OCD, and thought-action fusion. Results indicated that religiosity and paranormal beliefs are uniquely related to OCD features. Further, TAF-M and TAF-L mediated most of the relationships between the two belief systems and OCD. Moreover, the results indicated that TAF-M accounts for more of the relationship between religious beliefs and OCD than does TAF-L. In contrast, TAF-L accounts for more of the relationship between paranormal beliefs and OCD than does TAF-M. This study helps elucidate the nature of the relationship between OCD and different belief systems, and the results suggest that therapeutically targeting TAF may represent a culturally sensitive means to severing the connection between these belief systems and OCD.