title: An investigation of self-ambivalence in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Individuals vulnerable to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are hypothesized to have ambivalence about their self-worth, morality and lovability [Guidano, V., & Liotti, G. (1983). Cognitive processes and emotional disorders. New York: Guildford Press]. The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-ambivalence was associated with OCD phenomena and beliefs relevant to OCD. It also examined whether patients with OCD had higher levels of self-ambivalence compared to non-clinical controls and patients with other anxiety disorders. Participants were 73 OCD patients, 50 patients with another anxiety disorder, 225 non-clinical undergraduate students and 43 non-clinical community controls. They completed measures of self-ambivalence, OCD phenomena, OCD-relevant beliefs, depression, anxiety and self-esteem. Self-ambivalence was significantly associated with OCD phenomena and OCD-relevant beliefs, after controlling for self-esteem, depression and anxiety. Further, OCD participants were significantly more ambivalent than the non-clinical groups, but did not differ from anxious controls. It was argued that these results provide a basis for extending the cognitive-behavioural model of OCD to include ambivalent self-perceptions as a component of the cognitive mechanisms relevant to the disorder.
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia. sbhar@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Sunil S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bhar
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyrios
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009341:Negativism; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept