Who guards over obsessive fear of guilt? The case of Not Just Right Experiences and disgust

Abstract

• We examined NJREs and Disgust as mediators of guilt and obsessive compulsive symptoms. • Fear of guilt was related to obsessive compulsive symptomatology. • Guilt was a predictor of obsessive checking and obsessing symptomatology in people with high scores in NJREs. • Guilt and NJREs are related to ordering symptomatology. • Guilt was a predictor of washing symptomatology in people with high disgust proneness. Background Guilt emotion, responsibility, disgust and Not Just Right Experiences (NJREs) are currently considered pivotal ingredients of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Significant associations have been found between these variables and Obsessive–Compulsive (OC) symptoms, both in non-clinical and clinical populations. The main objective of our study was to shed light, in a nonclinical sample, on the patterns of association between these different constructs hypothesized to underlie OC symptoms. Methods Ninety-six healthy participants filled out measures of NJREs, OC symptoms, fear of guilt, and proneness to experiencing disgust. Results showed that while fear of guilt is a significant predictor of the different symptom clusters of OCD, disgust and NJREs differently contribute to symptomatic manifestation. Specifically, these findings suggest that while fear of feeling guilty is a cross-sectional ingredient of symptomatology, disgust and/or NJREs may function as sentinels of guilt, resulting in different behavioral outcomes. Limitations The use of healthy participants and of a single measure for NJREs, guilt, and disgust could limit the generalizability of the results. Conclusions These results support the primary role of guilt in the phenomenology of OC symptoms and support the perspective arguing for the centrality of the role of guilt in OC symptoms.