Personal Uncertainty Strengthens Associations Between Scrupulosity and Both the Moral Appraisals of Intrusive Thoughts and Beliefs that God is Upset with Sins

Abstract

Difficulties tolerating uncertainty are considered central to anxiety disorders. Despite researchers providing indirect evidence for the potential importance of personal uncertainty to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), extant research has focused on how intolerance of informational uncertainty relates to this disorder. We addressed this gap in the literature by examining the impact of personal uncertainty on a moral/religious subtype of OCD (i.e., scrupulosity) in the present research. In Study 1, community respondents (N = 120) completed a personal uncertainty or control manipulation and self-report measures assessing the moral appraisals of intrusive thoughts and scrupulosity. In Study 2, community respondents (N = 90) completed a personal uncertainty or control manipulation and self-report measures assessing beliefs that God is upset with sins and scrupulosity. In both studies, personal uncertainty causally strengthened associations between scrupulosity and the targeted criterion. Observed effects were not attributable to religiosity, negative affect, or intolerance of uncertainty. Overall, the present results support the relevancy of personal uncertainty to scrupulosity.