Punishment and the Cognitive Nature of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (2014)

Undergraduates: Priya Balagopal, Ryan Jacoby

Faculty Advisor: Jon Abramowitz
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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While distressing, intrusive thoughts are experienced by 84 percent of the population, individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder experience greater distress and feel a greater sense of the importance and need to control their thoughts. Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate what differentiates clinical symptoms from everyday thoughts at the cognitive level. This study improves on previous research on the relationship between dysfunctional beliefs, maladaptive thought control strategies, and OCD symptoms by employing the Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale (DOCS). We also employed data from the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) and Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire(OBQ) to measure coping strategies and cognitions, respectively. We used a sample of 103 participants diagnosed with OCD and receiving treatment at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin. First, we examined simple Pearson correlations between the TCQ subscales, OBQ subscales, and DOCS subscales. Also, we conducted partial Pearson correlations between the TCQ subscales and OBQ subscales controlling for trait anxiety (STAI T) and depression (BDI II). When partialing out for these two factors, there was a significant relationship between punishment and unwanted thoughts as well as punishment and the importance of and need to control thoughts. This suggests these relationships are specific to OCD and treatment should be tailored to addressing this thought control strategy.