Feared self and dimensions of obsessive compulsive symptoms: Sexual orientation-obsessions, relationship obsessions, and general OCD symptoms

Abstract

Feared self beliefs have been found to relate with OCD, whereby fears of who one is or might become have had implications for the experience of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The present study aimed to further the investigation of the fear of self to different OCD-symptom dimensions, including the understudied dimensions of relationship OCD and sexual orientation OCD, and compare this to prediction by other specific and general OCD-relevant beliefs. The final sample comprised 264 non-clinical participants (48.9% males) with a mean age of 34.65 years (SD = 12.01), who completed a battery of self-report measures. We found that different cognitions may contribute to OCD symptom presentations. General maladaptive beliefs were predictive of general OCD symptoms, while specific sexual-orientation beliefs were predictive of SO-OCD, over-and-above the more general beliefs noted in the cognitive appraisal model of OCD. The “feared self” was found to relate significantly to all OC symptoms dimensions including relationship OCD and sexual orientation OCD, and predicted significant additional variance in all symptom dimensions except for contamination and partner-focussed obsessions. The findings suggest that beliefs centred on feared self-perceptions and inner-self concerns may be important in understanding the appraisal process of intrusions.