Further validation of the Multidimensional Version of the Fear‐of‐Self Questionnaire in a Persian non‐clinical and clinical obsessive–compulsive disorder sample

Abstract

Previous research has shown that vulnerable self‐themes and feared self‐perceptions may play an important role in the development and maintenance of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). In particular, the recently validated Multidimensional Version of the Fear‐of‐Self Questionnaire (FSQ‐MV) has shown strong relationships with OCD symptoms independent of cognitive constructs and negative mood in non‐clinical samples. The current study aimed to further evaluate the validity and reliability of a Persian version of the FSQ‐MV in OCD patients (N = 300), as well as non‐clinical individuals (N = 300). Participants completed a set of scales evaluating feared self‐perceptions and OCD‐related symptoms/conditions. The results showed that the Persian version of the FSQ‐MV replicated the three‐factor structure of the original scale in non‐clinical and OCD patients. The FSQ‐MV and its subscales had excellent reliability. Additionally, the FSQ‐MV was significantly associated with related cognitive constructs, as well as OCD symptoms and their severity, in both samples. The feared self, especially the corrupted feared self, was a significant unique predictor of OC symptomology, especially for repugnant obsessions, and OCD severity. The study confirmed the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the FSQ‐MV. Moreover, cognitive conceptualizations may benefit from a consideration of the feared self in OCD, which may play an important role in its development, maintenance and severity.

Cross‐sectional direct and indirect relationships between the corrupted feared self and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in a clinical sample: The role of mental contamination

“…In other words, the feared possible self showed a robust connection to OCD and its symptoms, even in the presence of obsessive beliefs and depressive symptoms. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing linear relationships between the feared corrupted self and OCD symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical samples (Aardema et al, 2021;Sharifi Bastan et al, 2023) and emphasize the importance of considering feared self-perceptions when assessing and treating OCD.…”

“…The novel finding of the current study was that the feared corrupted self appears most relevant to contact contamination and unacceptable thoughts because of its association with feelings of contamination, even in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant. This finding is commensurate with research reporting that the corrupted feared self is strongly associated with OCD (Aardema et al, 2021;Llorens-Aguilar et al, 2022), especially symptoms of mental and contact contamination and unacceptable thoughts (Sharifi Bastan et al, 2023). We also found significant direct links between the corrupted feared self and the OCD symptoms of responsibility for harm and symmetry, but this relationship was not mediated via mental contamination.…”

“…Notably, the subscale of the corrupted feared self is particularly important as it may implicitly pertain to beliefs about the feared self that revolve around repugnant obsessions, such as fears of being mad, morally corrupt, or dangerous. The Persian version of the FSQ‐MV that has demonstrated good psychometric properties in both OCD and non‐clinical samples (Sharifi Bastan et al, 2023) was used in this study. Reliability in the current study was excellent for the corrupted feared self ( α = .96), the culpable feared self ( α = .90), and the malformed feared self ( α = .84).…”

“…However, separate dimensions of the feared self have been identified – namely corrupted, culpable, and malformed possible selves (Aardema et al, 2021). Considering this revised construct in research is particularly important because the corrupted feared self appears to be a major predictor of many OCD symptoms, including contact contamination and unacceptable thoughts, both in OCD and in non‐clinical samples (Aardema et al, 2021; Sharifi Bastan et al, 2023).…”

“…This model includes each dimension of the feared self as the predictor, mental contamination as the mediator, and OCD symptoms as the outcome. Since the fear‐of‐self appears to be a contributing factor in the severity of obsessions, independent of negative affect and obsessive beliefs (Aardema et al, 2021; Melli et al, 2016; Sharifi Bastan et al, 2023), we controlled for these constructs in the analysis. We hypothesized that the feared corrupted self would have an indirect relationship with contact contamination and unacceptable thoughts through mental contamination, while controlling for depressive symptoms, obsessive beliefs, and comorbidity.…”