title: The Relative Contributions of Experiential Avoidance and Distress Tolerance to OC Symptoms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obsessive beliefs account for substantial (but not all) obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Intolerance of internal experiences (IIE), which encompasses the constructs of experiential avoidance (EA) and distress tolerance (DT), refers to difficulty managing unwanted thoughts, emotions, and other internal states, and might add to current explanatory models. Although IIE appears to be conceptually relevant to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, scant research has examined this relationship empirically.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study examined the relative contributions of EA and DT as predictors of OC symptom dimensions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nonclinical sample (n = 496) completed self-report questionnaires measuring general distress, EA, DT and OC symptom dimensions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All variables of interest were significantly (all ps ≤ .001) correlated with one another, such that higher general distress, higher EA, and lower DT were associated with greater OC symptom severity for all symptom dimensions; however, only EA independently predicted obsessional symptoms, but not other OC symptom dimensions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One's willingness to endure (i.e. EA), rather than their ability to tolerate (i.e. DT) unpleasant internal experiences best predicts obsessional symptoms (i.e. obsessing) above and beyond general distress. Potential implications for understanding, assessing, and treating OC symptoms are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA.
authors.forename: Shannon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Blakey
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA.
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Jacoby
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reuman
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abramowitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D000067657:Pessimism / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; distress tolerance; experiential avoidance; obsessions