Disgust Scale Research Articles

Parents are Less Disgust Sensitive than Non-Parents, and Child Presence has No Effect on Parent Disgust Sensitivity

SYNOPSIS Objective. As child’s immune system is underdeveloped, compensatory mechanisms are needed to protect a child from pathogen threat. Increased disgust sensitivity in a child’s parent could be such a mechanism, and this study tested if parents are more disgust sensitive than non-parents (parental effect) and if parents declare higher disgust sensitivity when their offspring is nearby (child presence effect). Design. 995 adult men and women, who were either parents or childless, completed the pathogen subscale of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale and the Food Disgust Scale. Parents either were or were not accompanied by their offspring during responding. Results. Women are more disgust sensitive than men, and parents less sensitive to generalized pathogen disgust than childless individuals. Conclusions. This effect emerges in an opposite direction to what parental effects would suggest. No support for a child presence effect emerged.

On being a foodie: Food literacy, involvement, and disgust

Foodies, despite representing a significant and important consumer segment globally, are not well characterized in the scholarly literature. In this study we examine the association between foodiness and food literacy, involvement, and disgust; factors known to mediate several dimensions of food behaviour. A sample of 617 Canadian youth (18–25 yrs.) completed a 25-item food literacy scale, the 8-item Food Disgust Scale (English version), and the Food Involvement Scale. Foodiness and foodie status (foodie or non-foodie) were determined using the modified Foodie Index. Results show that foodies (n = 204) are more food literate overall than non-foodies (n = 203) (Kruskal-Wallis H test), and score higher across all five subscales. They also have a higher level of general education attainment (Chi-square test). Unexpectedly, foodies also display higher food disgust than non-foodies (Kruskal-Wallis H test). We also show that the foodie construct is more complex than and qualitatively distinct from food involvement. Our findings should assist food marketers and retailers in market segmentation initiatives, and in aligning their products and services with the features and needs of those segments. Additionally, we discuss implications for education and policy strategies aimed at improving food literacy, and identify future research needs.

Italian validation of the body odor disgust scale.

Disgust sensitivity to body odors plays a role in a set of psychological mechanisms supposedly evolved to avoid pathogens. To assess individual differences in body odor disgust, we previously developed the body odor disgust scale (BODS) and validated it in English. The BODS presents six scenarios where disgust could be evoked by smells coming from an internal source and an external source. The present study aimed to validate the BODS in the Italian population and to find further evidence for its structural, construct, and criterion validity. We used two large samples (N = 1,050, F = 527; and N = 402, F = 203, respectively) that were representative of the Italian population for sex and age. Across these two studies, we confirmed the hypothesized bifactor structure, with all the items loading onto a general body odor disgust sensitivity factor, and on two specific factors related to the internal structure. In terms of construct validity, we found that the BODS converged with pathogen disgust sensitivity of the three-domain disgust scale (TDDS) but was distinct from a general propensity to experience negative emotions. The BODS showed criterion validity in predicting the behavioral intentions toward COVID-19 avoidance behavior, although it did not seem to be incrementally valid when compared to the TDDS pathogen subscale. We also established scalar measurement invariance of the BODS regarding gender and found that women display higher levels of BODS. Results from the Italian version of the BODS indicate its structural, construct, nomological and criterion validity. Furthermore, our result on sex differences in disgust sensitivity are consistent with previous literature, and we discuss them in the broader context of cross-cultural and primate findings that points toward a possible evolutionary explanation of this difference.

Examination of the validity and reliability of a Japanese Version of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale

Examination of the validity and reliability of a Japanese Version of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale

Linking disgust and misophonia: The role of mental contamination

Aim of the studyIn the current study, the authors sought to examine whether the link between moral and sexual disgust and misophonia is mediated by mental contamination.Subject or material and methodsAn internationally diverse sample of 283 adults (193 females, 76 males, and 14 non-binary individuals) ranging in age from 18 to 60 years old was recruited from online social media platforms and survey recruitment sites. The sample completed an online battery of scales that consisted of the New York Misophonia Scale, State Metal Contamination Scale, and the Three-Domain Disgust Scale. The hypotheses were evaluated using a series of mediations. performed using the PROCESS add-on in SPSS.ResultsCorrelations were found between emotional and aggressive-avoidant reactions in misophonia, mental contamination, pathogen disgust, and sexual disgust. Moral disgust and non-aggressive reactions in misophonia failed to correlate significantly with any of the other constructs. Sexual disgust had direct and indirect effects while pathogen disgust had only direct effects on aspects of misophonia.DiscussionThese findings partially support our hypothesis that mental contamination mediates the link between disgust propensity and misophonia while also confirming that pathogen-based disgust is not associated with mental contamination.ConclusionsFindings imply that misophonia is distinct from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Further research into the conceptualization of moral disgust is warranted.

Exploring the intricacies of food disgust: Unveiling links between gender, healthy eating obsession, and disgust propensity

Disgust sensitivity refers to how unpleasant a disgusting experience is to an individual and plays a role in the development of many psychiatric conditions. Given its connection to food intake, there is interest in understanding how an individual's sensitivity to disgust relates to their eating habits. We set out to explore how the disgust emotion affected adults’ obsession with healthy eating. Eight hundred fifty-two (852) volunteers between the ages of 19–55 years participated in the study. We sent them a list of socio-demographic questions and four instruments to fill out online: the Disgust Scale-Revised (DS–R), Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale (DPSS), Food Disgust Scale (FDS), and ORTO-15. Our results showed that more than half of them had normal BMIs. The women exhibited higher disgust tendencies than the men did. ORTO-15 scores were higher among men (p < 0.05), meaning men had a lower tendency toward healthy eating obsession. We found an inverse correlation between BMI and DPSS in that higher BMI values corresponded to lower to lower DPSS scores (p < 0.05). We also found a positive correlation with the DS-R, DPSS, and FDS scales, and a negative one with the ORTO-15 scale (p < 0.05). People’s DS-R scores also increased with age (p < 0.05). Food disgust seems to be influenced by age and gender. More research is needed that explores the effects of other demographic factors on food disgust in a larger population. Otherwise, few studies have been done on orthorexia nervosa. Nevertheless, people also need to take measures that would ultimately prevent them from obsessing about healthy eating.

Are cooks more disgust sensitive? Preliminary examination of the food preparation hypothesis

According to the food preparation hypothesis, sex differences in disgust sensitivity may stem from different sex roles that males and females played in our ancestral times. In current times, these differences may be reflected in varying levels of disgust sensitivity between people who frequently versus rarely engage in meal preparation, or who are versus are not professionally responsible for providing meals for others. To test this reasoning, we conducted a preregistered study with 493 individuals (55% female), with 280 of them working in the restaurant industry. Participants reported their weekly time spent on cooking-related activities and completed the Food Disgust Scale and pathogen subscale of Three Domain Disgust Scale. These measures capture specific, food-related disgust sensitivity, and generalised pathogen disgust sensitivity, respectively. We found that while time spent on cooking was not associated with disgust sensitivity, people professionally engaged in food preparation displayed higher levels of food-related disgust sensitivity. There was no effect of cooking on the generalised pathogen disgust sensitivity. Additionally, we observed sex differences in both types of disgust sensitivity and found that vegetarians exhibited lower disgust sensitivity than meat-eaters. Overall, our findings offer preliminary support for the food preparation hypothesis, and point out that the mechanisms adjusting our disgust sensitivity levels are category-specific, even within the broader pathogen disgust domain.

Pathogen disgust is associated with interpersonal bias among healthcare professionals.

Pathogen avoidance is a fundamental motive that shapes many aspects of human behavior including bias against groups stereotypically linked to disease (e.g. immigrants, outgroup members). This link has only been examined in convenience samples and it is unknown how pathogen avoidance processes operate in populations experiencing prolonged and heightened pathogen threat such as healthcare professionals. We examined whether healthcare professionals demonstrate the same link between pathogen disgust and intergroup bias as has been documented among the general population. Participants (N = 317; 210 healthcare professionals) were recruited using snowball sampling to take an online survey. Participants completed the Three Domain Disgust Scale to assess pathogen, sexual and moral disgust. Participants then rated their perceptions of a fictitious immigrant group ('Krasneeans') and the degree to which they endorsed group-binding moral values. Compared to control participants, healthcare professionals reported lower levels of pathogen disgust, but not sexual or moral disgust. However, regardless of profession, higher pathogen disgust was associated with viewing Krasneeans as less likeable and more unclean. Additionally, regardless of profession, higher pathogen disgust was associated with greater endorsement of group-binding moral values, although healthcare professionals reported greater overall endorsement of group-binding moral values than did control participants. Although healthcare professionals demonstrated lower levels of pathogen disgust, they nevertheless exhibited largely the same relationship between pathogen disgust and interpersonal biases as did control participants. One practical implication of this association is that pathogen avoidance motives may contribute to inequitable patient treatment in healthcare settings.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Turkish Version of the Three-Domain Disgust Scale in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Non-Clinical Samples

The Three-Domain Disgust Scale (TDDS) contains three subscales assessing disgust sensitivity that may contribute to research on developing and maintaining psychopathology and treating psychopathologies related to disgust. This study aimed to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the TDDS Turkish version. Two hundred and thirty-six participants responded to the scale consisting of 131 individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and consisting of 105 non-clinical samples. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFAs) and multigroup CFAs were performed to evaluate the factor structure and the measurement invariance across clinically disordered TDDS. Reliability analyses were calculated with Cronbach’s alpha and a one-month retest. Besides, the convergent and discriminant validity of the TDDS were examined with the Beck Depression Inventory, Disgust Scale-Revised, Guilt Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The study found that the three-factor structure of the TDDS was the best fit for the data, with high item-factor loadings, which proved invariant across clinically disordered. Convergent and discriminative validity of the TDDS was provided, and the reliability analysis results were satisfactory (all ≥ 0.70) in two samples. The TDDS presented high cross- language replicability and seemed an effective instrument for research in Turkish adults.

Self-disgust in patients with borderline personality disorder. The associations with alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, and comorbid psychopathology

BackgroundSelf-disgust is a negative self-conscious emotion, which has been linked with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, it has not yet been investigated in relation to both emotion dysregulation and alexithymia, which are recognized as crucial to BPD. Therefore, the aim of our study was to measure these variables and examine the possible mediational role of emotional alterations and comorbid anxiety and depression symptoms in shaping self-disgust in patients with BPD and healthy controls (HCs).MethodsIn total, the study included 100 inpatients with BPD and 104 HCs. Participants completed: the Self-Disgust Scale (SDS), Disgust Scale – Revised (DS-R), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Emotion Dysregulation Scale short version (EDS-short), Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPD Checklist), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-R).ResultsInpatients with BPD showed higher self-disgust, alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, core and comorbid symptoms levels, and lower disgust sensitivity. Alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, and trait anxiety partially mediated between BPD diagnosis and self-disgust. The relationship between the severity of BPD symptoms and self-disgust was fully mediated by alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety.ConclusionsThe results of our study may imply the contribution of emotion dysregulation, alexithymia, and comorbid psychopathology to self-referenced disgust in BPD.

Little Evidence for the Role of Disgust Sensitivity in Implicit Disgust to Images of White People Engaged in Injecting Drug Use (IDU)

Background: Previous research has shown that People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) are subject to public stigma, which affects access to, and provision and quality of, treatment and support services. Less is known about the socio-cognitive processes that support the development and maintenance of public stigma toward PWID. The present study investigated the role of disgust sensitivity in implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Methods: 126 participants took part in an online Implicit Association Task (IAT) measuring implicit disgust to pictorial stimuli of injecting drug use or medical injecting. Participants also completed The Disgust Scale Revised, Injecting Phobia Scale (Short Form), Attitudes to People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) scale and a substance use inventory. Results: Average IAT score was negative indicating significantly higher implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Hierarchical linear regression found that injecting phobia predicted implicit disgust to injecting drug use. Questionnaire measures of disgust did not predict implicit disgust. While animal reminder disgust and injecting phobia were significantly correlated with each other, animal reminder disgust did not predict implicit disgust scores. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings, stigma toward PWID may not be a result of feelings of disgust toward injecting drug use. We discuss findings in the context of the underlying cortical processes supporting implicit and explicit representations of disgust. Future research should seek to investigate neurophysiological evidence for disgust to and stigmatization of injecting drug use and the potential role of domains of disgust in this.

How Moral Disgust Affects Aggression: The Mediating Roles of Benign and Malicious Envy

ABSTRACT Aggression has been receiving much attention always as it has serious negative effects. Moral disgust may be a protective factor against aggression. This study explores the mediating role of malicious envy and benign envy in the relationship between moral disgust and aggression from the perspective of integrative functional theory of moral disgust. The present study recruited 1052 participants and asked them to complete Three Domains of Disgust Scale (including Moral Disgust Subscale), Benign and Malicious Envy Scale, and Aggression Scale. The results showed that: (1) benign envy acted as a mediating variable between moral disgust and aggression, and played a partial mediating role. Malicious envy acted as a mediating variable between moral disgust and aggression, and played a full mediator role. In other words, both benign envy and malicious envy played an independent mediating role between moral disgust and aggression; (2) Benign envy and malicious envy are the mediator variables at the same time, only malicious envy can play a fully mediating role between moral disgust and aggression. That’s to say, moral disgust can stably and significantly affect aggression through malicious envy. This study provided a theoretical reference to inhibit the generation of negative emotions and aggressive behaviors in social practice.

Gıda Tiksinme Ölçeğinin Türkçe Uyarlamasının Geçerlik ve Güvenirliği

Objective: The feeling of disgust for food plays an important role in many situations, especially in food choice and consumption. Since the feeling of disgust is effective in many events that affect individuals' daily-life, it is important to understand the role of this emotion in food-related behaviours. Recently, a 32-item instrument to Food Disgust Scale (FDS) developed and validated. This study aims to validate the FDS for the first time in Turkish population.&#x0D; Methods: This cross-sectional study included 240 healthy Turkish individuals between the ages of 19-65. The research was carried out on the internet between July 2020-February 2021 with the survey method. The scale was evaluated with a six-point Likert scale as in the original. Statistical analyses were made with the R-Project program and lavaan packages. A Turkish version of the FDS (FDS-TR) was tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in order to test the original item.&#x0D; Results: In this study, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.914. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficients for FDS-TR subscales varied between 0.717-0.902. The fit indices provided by confirmatory factor analysis results were also within the acceptable range.&#x0D; Conclusion: This study results indicate that FDS-TR is highly reliable in healthy individuals and can be used safely in future studies. It is recommended that the scale be used to determine the effects of food disgust on many issues such as food waste, obesity, eating behaviour in our country.

Global olfactory function correlates with global sexual functioning in men and women.

Olfaction is intimately involved in reproductive behaviors. However, there is limited evidence about the relationship between olfactory and sexual functioning, and whether this relationship is modulated by gender. This study aimed to investigate the correlates between olfactory and sexual functioning in a cohort of young healthy individuals; secondary outcomes were the possible correlates between disgust and perceived vulnerability to illness, with particular relation to sexual attitudes. Between January 2019 and December 2022, we enrolled 125 participants (51 males and 74 females) without known sexual disorders. The mean age was 28.47±8.6, and the mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 23.86±3.3 without major disease or concomitant drug assumption, except for nutraceutical use. Olfactory sensitivity was tested with the Sniffin' Sticks Test (SST). Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS) and Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD) questionnaires were administered for the evaluation of perceived susceptibility to illness along with the Sexual Attitude Scale (SAS) for the evaluation of sexual attitudes. Sexual function was evaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaires, respectively. Overall, a close relationship between sexual function and olfaction in both sexes (P<0.05) was found. In the male sample, better olfactive scores were positively correlated to all IIEF sub-domains but negatively with BMI and age, respectively (P<0.05). Moreover, olfaction was negatively correlated with a restrictive attitude towards sexuality (SAS) (P<0.05). The latter was also positively correlated with PVD (P<0.01). In the female sample, all FSFI subscales but sexual desire was positively correlated with olfaction (P<0.05). We herein confirm that olfactory capacities positively correlate with sexual behavior in both sexes. In males, these findings were mostly dependent upon increasing age and BMI. In females all domains of sexual function but sexual desire correlated with olfactory capacity, thus suggesting independent neural pathway activation for sexual desire. Finally, better olfactory capacities seem to determine sexual attitudes and disease avoidance behaviors irrespective of gender.

Gut-Brain Interaction Disorders and Anorexia Nervosa: Psychopathological Asset, Disgust, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms.

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are very common in subjects with eating disorders (EDs). This study aimed to (a) investigate the prevalence of gut-brain interaction disorders (DGBIs) in anorexia nervosa (AN) patients, according to ROME IV criteria; and (b) explore AN psychopathological assets and disgust that might impact GI symptoms. Thirty-eight female patients consecutively diagnosed with untreated AN (age 19.32 ± 5.59) in an outpatient clinic devoted to EDs underwent Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Social Phobia Anxiety Scale (SPAS), Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and Disgust Scale (DS) questionnaires. The presence of DGBIs was evaluated and GI symptoms were assessed using a standardized intensity-frequency questionnaire. A total of 94.7% of our sample met the diagnostic criteria for functional dyspepsia (FD), of which 88.8% presented the postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) subtype and 41.6% presented the epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) subtype. In addition, 52.6% of the sample met the diagnostic criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), while for functional constipation (FC), prevalence reached 7.9%. All participants presented a pathological score on the disgust scale. Significant correlations were found between several GI symptoms and psychopathological asset and disgust. AN is a multifactorial disorder. It is necessary to implement studies with an integrated approach, taking into account DGBIs, as well as to monitor the emotional-cognitive structure that acts as a factor in maintaining the disorder.

Experimental validation of the food disgust scale using olfactory stimuli

Individual disgust reactions can be elicited through different types of sensory stimuli. Most well-known scales measuring disgust are text-based, thus more cognitive stimuli. This study aimed to validate the food disgust scale using olfactory stimuli related to food. For this, 150 participants were invited to our lab to rate different odours for the level of disgust evoked. Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring) revealed two factors. The seven more disgusting items loaded on a first factor, whereas the two less disgusting items loaded on a second factor. The seven items loading on Factor 1 had acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.73, McDonald’s Ω = 0.72). Further, Factor Score 1 was significantly correlated with the FDS short, a food disgust sensitivity questionnaire (r = 0.40, p <.001). We conclude that food disgust sensitivity can help predict individuals’ odour perception and our data support the incremental validity of the FDS short. Our study is the first to validate the FDS short using olfactory stimuli. Finally, our study indicates that there is significant potential for the creation of a food disgust odour scale.

Is Pathogen Disgust Increased on Days of the Menstrual Cycle when Progesterone is High? Evidence from a Between-Subjects Study Using Estimated Progesterone Levels

ObjectiveThe Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis proposes that women will show increased pathogen disgust at points in the menstrual cycle when progesterone is high, compensating for the immunosuppressive effects of progesterone. However, evidence for the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis from studies that used longitudinal designs to investigate whether pathogen disgust tracks changes in progesterone is mixed. It was recently proposed that longitudinal designs may be poorly suited to testing the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis because carry-over effects when women are tested repeatedly in within-subject designs might obscure the effects of progesterone and pathogen disgust. Consequently, we used a between-subjects design to test for a positive relationship between scores on the pathogen disgust subscale of the Three Domain Disgust Scale and progesterone levels imputed from menstrual cycle data using actuarial tables.MethodsWe employed a between-subject design on N = 1346 women using the Three Domains of Disgust Scale (TDDS).ResultsWe found no evidence for a positive effect of progesterone on pathogen disgust, suggesting that null results for the hypothesized relationship between progesterone and pathogen disgust are not limited to studies using designs that may be subject to carry-over effects caused by repeated testing.ConclusionOur results add to a growing body of research that does not support the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis.

Serbian translation of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale (TDDS): a pilot study

Disgust is a universal emotion representing a need to withdraw from revolting stimuli. The adaptationist paradigm dictates that there are three domains of disgust, the moral, sexual and traditional pathogen disgust. This has been operationalized as the Three Domains of Disgust Scale (TDDS). In two studies we have tested the student population in order to first examine the structure of the questionnaire with exploratory and then confirmatory factor analysis. We have achieved appropriate model fit but with eliminating five items in order to preserve the original three factor structure. We have also detected the expected relationship with other measure of disgust already adapted to the Serbian language. In conclusion the TDDS is viable for use in the Serbian language albeit in a shortened version.

Temporary differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces

Feelings of disgust, a disease avoidance emotion, vary among individuals. The present study investigated if individual differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity predict the level of disgust evoked by crowded places. Interested in the universality of this relationship, we studied it across countries (Study 1), and examined temporal differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity (Studies 2 and 3). Participants completed a pathogen disgust scale and rated the level of disgust evoked by two crowded situations. Data were collected in 2018 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), in 2020 (at the height of the pandemic) and in 2022 (later in the pandemic). Across studies and countries, individuals' pathogen disgust sensitivity predicted the disgust evoked by the situations. Moreover, the data revealed a significant increase in pathogen disgust from 2018 to 2020, most likely because of higher pathogen presence during the pandemic, before significantly decreasing in 2022 after the pandemic had progressed. This study captures a rare opportunity, investigating how these crises relate to pathogen disgust sensitivity and the perception of crowded spaces. Further, our longitudinal study is among the first showing changes in pathogen disgust sensitivity over time and monitoring the effect of the pandemic.

Does Childhood Maltreatment Predict Moral Disgust? The Underlying Mediating Mechanisms.

Although moral disgust is one of the most important moral emotions, there is limited evidence about the antecedents of it in China. This paper aimed to discuss the linkage between childhood maltreatment and moral disgust, and investigated the specific mechanism between these two variables from the perspective of emotional development and moral development, respectively, based on the Tripartite Model. By combining random sampling and cluster sampling, this study recruited 968 participants from college. Then, childhood maltreatment, moral disgust, emotional intelligence, and empathy were measured separately by using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Moral Disgust Scale (MD), Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index–C (IRI). Additionally, the results of the mediation model analysis show that childhood maltreatment is negatively predictable of moral disgust. In addition, the mechanism by which childhood maltreatment influences moral disgust could be explained by the effect of emotional intelligence on empathy. To sum up, this study explored and explained the specific mechanism between childhood maltreatment and moral disgust, replenishing previous achievements and providing support for the design of intervention on moral disgust by improving emotional intelligence and empathy.