The role of gender, fear of self and disgust propensity in mental contamination: A model test using mental contamination induction

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

“…In the regression analyses in both samples, the DOCS and its subscales were the dependent variables, and the FSQ‐MV subscales, OBQ‐44, ICQ‐EV, VOCI‐MC and BDI‐II, were the independent variables. Although mental contamination is commonly a symptom of OCD, it is also conceptually and empirically related to the notion of a feared corrupted self as measured by the FSQ‐MV (Aardema & Wong, 2020; Krause et al, 2020; Üzümcü et al, 2021). Therefore, in order to determine whether the feared corrupted self provides any independent contributions in the prediction of symptoms of OCD separate from the symptom domain of mental contamination, we decided to include this scale as an independent variable in our models.…”

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

“…They concluded that the feared self brings about mental contamination because it is perceived as a violation of the self, which then is linked to cleaning behaviours. Other studies have since supported this association (Inozu et al, 2022; Üzümcü et al, 2021) and have also connected unacceptable thoughts to contamination‐related behaviours, independent of the severity of contact contamination (Coughtrey, Shafran, Knibbs, & Rachman, 2012; Coughtrey, Shafran, Lee, & Rachman, 2012; Jacoby et al, 2018; Mathes et al, 2019; Melli et al, 2014, 2017).…”

“…OCD symptom dimensions (Moulding et al, 2014): concerns about being contaminated through direct contact with potential contaminants, including objects and people, and experiencing unacceptable thoughts with sexual, aggressive, and/or religious themes. Despite the reliable relationship between fear-of-self and these OCD symptom dimensions (Aardema et al, 2013;Jacoby et al, 2018;Krause et al, 2020;Llorens-Aguilar et al, 2019;Üzümcü et al, 2021), little research has investigated the precise mechanism underlying them. As noted by Krause et al (2020), even contact contamination can reflect concerns about the self -"being contaminated means I am a dirty person" -such that washing behaviours can reflect an attempt to cleanse the self (e.g., Shakespeare's Lady MacBeth's attempts to wash herself to absolve her guilt over Duncan's murder).…”

“…Recent studies, as well as a systematic review conducted by Jaeger et al (2021), have shown that the feared possible self is uniquely associated with OCD symptom dimensions in both clinical and non‐clinical samples (Aardema et al, 2013, 2021; Baraby et al, 2021; Doron, 2020; Fernandez et al, 2021), particularly the symptoms of unacceptable thoughts and contact contamination concerns (Aardema et al, 2013, 2018; Baraby et al, 2021, 2023; Godwin et al, 2020; Inozu et al, 2022; Krause et al, 2020; Llorens‐Aguilar et al, 2019; Melli et al, 2016; Üzümcü et al, 2021). These are two of the most prominent OCD symptom dimensions (Moulding et al, 2014): concerns about being contaminated through direct contact with potential contaminants, including objects and people, and experiencing unacceptable thoughts with sexual, aggressive, and/or religious themes.…”

“…While important, the studies supporting the link between fear‐of‐self and contact contamination through mental contamination are limited in several ways (Inozu et al, 2022; Krause et al, 2020; Üzümcü et al, 2021). First, they were conducted in non‐clinical samples, limiting the generalizability of the findings to patients with OCD.…”