scholarly journals Thought-action fusion and inflated responsibility in psychopathology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kirsty Jane Fraser

<p>The aim of the current research was to investigate the presence and roles of inflated responsibility and thought-action fusion in psychopathology. The three underlying research themes were to examine the relationship between thought-action fusion and inflated responsibility, the roles that they play in psychopathology, and the possible etiology of these types of beliefs. It is proposed that these responsibility beliefs are not specific to obsessive compulsive disorder, as commonly assumed, and that they play important roles in the maintenance of a range of psychological symptoms. This thesis presents the results of four studies. The first study was designed to investigate the presence of Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) and Inflated Responsibility (IR) alongside symptoms of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, with thought suppression playing an intermediary role. Study 2 examined the interaction between responsibility beliefs and locus of control on obsessive-compulsive symptoms with non-clinical and clinical participants. The third study focussed on the etiology of responsibility beliefs, taking Salkovskis, Shafran, Rachman, and Freeston’s (1999) theory of Pathways to Inflated Responsibility and empirically testing this with both clinical and non-clinical samples. Study 4 focussed on the relationship between responsibility beliefs and religiosity, using participants of Protestant Christian beliefs and Atheists. These studies collectively show that Thought-Action Fusion and Inflated Responsibility are both important and contributing factors in psychopathology, especially playing a part in the maintenance of symptoms and feelings of distress. Results indicated that while TAF tends to be specific to obsessive compulsive symptoms, IR is more of a general cognitive bias. Results also indicate that critical experiences in one’s life can lead to biases in responsibility beliefs. Additionally, results show that these biases are not always indicative of psychopathology when they are acceptable within a particular set of morals, for example religion. These findings are of both theoretical and clinical significance because they add to the growing understanding of TAF and IR in psychopathology. The current research was conducted with observational, self-report measures; further research using longitudinal studies is needed for more clarity on causality.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kirsty Jane Fraser

<p>The aim of the current research was to investigate the presence and roles of inflated responsibility and thought-action fusion in psychopathology. The three underlying research themes were to examine the relationship between thought-action fusion and inflated responsibility, the roles that they play in psychopathology, and the possible etiology of these types of beliefs. It is proposed that these responsibility beliefs are not specific to obsessive compulsive disorder, as commonly assumed, and that they play important roles in the maintenance of a range of psychological symptoms. This thesis presents the results of four studies. The first study was designed to investigate the presence of Thought-Action Fusion (TAF) and Inflated Responsibility (IR) alongside symptoms of depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, with thought suppression playing an intermediary role. Study 2 examined the interaction between responsibility beliefs and locus of control on obsessive-compulsive symptoms with non-clinical and clinical participants. The third study focussed on the etiology of responsibility beliefs, taking Salkovskis, Shafran, Rachman, and Freeston’s (1999) theory of Pathways to Inflated Responsibility and empirically testing this with both clinical and non-clinical samples. Study 4 focussed on the relationship between responsibility beliefs and religiosity, using participants of Protestant Christian beliefs and Atheists. These studies collectively show that Thought-Action Fusion and Inflated Responsibility are both important and contributing factors in psychopathology, especially playing a part in the maintenance of symptoms and feelings of distress. Results indicated that while TAF tends to be specific to obsessive compulsive symptoms, IR is more of a general cognitive bias. Results also indicate that critical experiences in one’s life can lead to biases in responsibility beliefs. Additionally, results show that these biases are not always indicative of psychopathology when they are acceptable within a particular set of morals, for example religion. These findings are of both theoretical and clinical significance because they add to the growing understanding of TAF and IR in psychopathology. The current research was conducted with observational, self-report measures; further research using longitudinal studies is needed for more clarity on causality.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
John Paulson

Previous research has documented similarities between symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa and elevated comorbidity between these conditions in clinical samples, with the relationship between OCD and Anorexia being stronger than between OCD and Bulimia. Researchers adopting a continuum view of psychopathology have also found that individuals with sub-clinical expressions of obsessive-compulsive symptoms resemble their clinical counterparts in several ways. The goal of the current study was to explore whether or not the observed relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and eating disorder symptoms observed in clinical populations would also be observed in a nonclinical population. 264 participants from a college sample completed self-report measures of these symptoms. A positive correlation was found between scores on obsessive-compulsive, anorexia and bulimia instruments, and reflective of their clinical counterparts the relationship between obsessive-compulsive and anorexia symptoms was more significant than the one between obsessive compulsive symptoms and bulimia symptoms. Implications and limitations for research and clinical practice are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith E. Coles ◽  
Casey A. Schofield ◽  
Jacob A. Nota

Background: Despite literature establishing a relationship between maladaptive beliefs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there are few studies addressing how these beliefs develop. Salkovskis and colleagues (1999) proposed specific domains of childhood experiences leading to heightened beliefs regarding responsibility. Prior studies in students and individuals who just completed treatment for OCD have found support for this theory. However, we are not aware of published data from individuals with current OCD. Aims: This paper presents initial data from adults currently meeting criteria for OCD as well as both anxious and non-anxious controls. Method: Recollections of childhood experiences, current OCD-related beliefs, and OCD symptoms were assessed using self-report measures in 39 individuals seeking treatment for OCD, 36 anxious controls and 39 healthy controls. Results: Initial data suggested that in individuals with OCD, increased reports of childhood exposure to overprotection and experiences where one's actions caused or influenced misfortune were associated with stronger OCD-related beliefs. Further, compared to community controls, individuals with OCD reported more childhood experiences where one's actions caused or influenced misfortune, though they did not differ from anxious controls in childhood responsibility experiences. Conclusions: These initial findings provide minimal support for the proposed model of the development of inflated responsibility beliefs, and highlight the need for research examining the etiology of OCD related beliefs with updated models, larger samples, and ultimately using prospective methods.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea R. Ashbaugh ◽  
Laurie A. Gelfand ◽  
Adam S. Radomsky

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with an inflated sense of responsibility to prevent harm. Increasingly, it has been recognized that inflated responsibility is a complex phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to examine how interpersonal aspects of responsibility are related to symptoms of OCD. Three new valid and reliable scales assessing beliefs about other people's responsibility, comparative beliefs about responsibility, beliefs about the allocation of responsibility, and beliefs about how others allocate responsibility were used to evaluate interpersonal influences on responsibility. Whereas personal beliefs about responsibility were related to all OCD symptom types, it appears that beliefs about other people's responsibility were related to only a subgroup of symptom types. Furthermore, the belief that one is more responsible than others predicts OC symptoms beyond commonly assessed personal beliefs about responsibility. Finally, individuals with OC symptoms tend to allocate more responsibility to themselves than others, compared to individuals without OC symptoms, despite the fact that individuals with OC symptoms believe that others tend to allocate responsibility equitably. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive models of OCD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Moretta ◽  
Giulia Buodo

We investigated the relationships and diagnostic power of symptoms associated with affective disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and drug addictions on Internet use disorder. Moreover, we tested whether Internet use disorder is characterized by a specific network of symptoms. One-hundred-and-four young adults (78 women) were assessed in laboratory using self-report measures of Internet addiction, alcohol use disorder, cannabis abuse, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, impulsiveness, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Only hoarding, obsessing, and depression symptoms were positively linked to Internet use disorder severity, with hoarding having greater power and accuracy than other obsessive-compulsive and affective symptoms. Only individuals with mild-moderate Internet use disorder were characterized by a network of strong and positive associations of affective and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. These findings may encourage future longitudinal studies aimed at identifying potential clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Internet use disorder and treatment targets.


Author(s):  
Hicham Laaraj ◽  
◽  
Mina Ouhamou ◽  
Omar El Omari ◽  
Jalal Doufik ◽  
...  

The relationship between the menstrual cycle and mood disturbances has been described in the literature and is linked to changes in the secretion of sex hormones. Rare studies have reported the exacerbation of obsessions during menstruation, while no case reports the onset of premenstrual Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Nosographically, obsessive symptoms are not part of premenstrual syndrome, and no specification of the menstrual cycle for obsessive disorders was mentioned in DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). We report a 39-year-old patient followed for panic disorder since adolescence, and who currently presents for obsessive symptoms that meet the diagnostic criteria for an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and which have the particularity of occurring exclusively during menstruation. Our case emphasizes the importance of establishing a new nosographic framework that takes into account the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms related to the menstrual cycle. Keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; menstruation cycle; nosography.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengchong Wang ◽  
Wenwen Cao ◽  
Tao Chen ◽  
Jian Gao ◽  
Yifan Liu ◽  
...  

To explore the relationship between negative affect, mind-wandering, rumination and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, 100 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 100 healthy controls were assessed using the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Mind Wandering Scale and the Ruminative Response Scale. The results show that (i) patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder displayed higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms, negative affect, mind-wandering and rumination compared with healthy controls; (ii) negative affect, mind-wandering and rumination were positively correlated with the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; (iii) mind-wandering predicted the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (both directly and indirectly); (iv) rumination and negative affect mediated the relationship between mind-wandering and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The results preliminarily reveal the relationship between mind-wandering and psychopathological obsessive-compulsive symptoms, providing a reference for exploring novel psychological treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder.


2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 395-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Bejerot ◽  
L von Knorring ◽  
L Ekselius

As opposed to other psychiatric populations, subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) smoke less than the general population. The present study aims at further investigating the relationship between smoking in OCD subjects and personality traits.Sixty-four subjects with OCD were interviewed concerning their smoking habits. Personality traits were evaluated using the Karolinska Scales of Personality, and specific obsessive-compulsive personality traits were elicited through self-report questionnaires.Non-smokers were more easily fatigued, more inclined to worry, more remorseful, less self-confident, less impulsive and became uneasy more frequently when urged to speed up, than smokers with OCD.Additionally, non-smokers fulfilled significantly more obsessive-compulsive personality disorder criteria as compared to the smokers (P < 0.001).We propose a clinical subtype of OCD related to non-smoking, psychasthenia, anxiety, and pronounced obsessive-compulsive personality disorder traits.


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