Self-perceptions as a vulnerability to obsessive-compulsive disorder: Investigation into self-ambivalence and a self-worth contingent upon high moral standards

Using a cognitive framework, this study examined self-perceptions as a vulnerability to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Specifically, Guidano and Liotti’s (1983) model of self-ambivalence and the notion of self-worth contingent upon moral standards were investigated as possible mechanisms to explain how individuals come to notice their unwanted intrusions. Additionally, this study examined specifically if intrusions with moral themes related to self-perceptions. All analyses controlled for the influence of depression. The sample comprised first year undergraduate psychology students; 95 females (M = 22.49 years, SD = 7.96) and 25 males (M = 21.64 years, SD = 7.26). Participants were administered a semi-structured interview and self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that ambivalence about meeting personal moral standards was a particular vulnerability to experiencing obsessive-compulsive (OC) phenomena. There was no support for a model of intrusions with moral themes being associated with self-perceptions independent of depression. The importance of depression was highlighted, directions for future research discussed and implications of the findings explored.