title: Incompleteness and not just right experiences in the explanation of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
abstract: In the past decade, not just right experiences (NJRE) and incompleteness (INC) have attracted renewed interest as putative motivators of symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), beyond harm avoidance (HA). This study examines, in 267 non-clinical undergraduates and 47 OCD patients, the differential contributions of HA, INC, and NJRE to the different OCD symptom dimensions and the propensity to have the disorder. The results indicate that although both the NJRE and INC range from normality to OCD, their number and intensity significantly increase as the obsessional tendencies increase, which suggests that they are vulnerability markers for OCD. Although they cannot be considered fully specific to OCD, they are more important in explaining OCD symptoms than general distress and harm-related beliefs, and they are also better indicators of OCD severity than HA. In light of the operationalization of both NJRE and INC across the items on their respective questionnaires, the two constructs seem to capture different aspects of the same complex underlying construct: whereas INC might refer to a relatively stable disposition or trait of engaging in compulsive rituals, NJRE resemble obsessions more, and the appraisals that individuals ascribe to the experience would motivate the compulsions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Personality, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Research Unit, I'TOC, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: amparo.belloch@uv.es.
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belloch
authors.affiliation: Department of Personality, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Research Unit, I'TOC, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: gertrudis.fornes@uv.es.
authors.forename: Gertrudis
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fornés
authors.affiliation: Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Research Unit, I'TOC, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outpatients Unit, Hospital Universitario La Fé, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: angelcator@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.affiliation: OCD Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental), Carlos III Health Institute, Spain. Electronic address: claral@bellvitgehospital.cat.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: López-Solá
authors.affiliation: OCD Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental), Carlos III Health Institute, Spain. Electronic address: mpalonso@bellvitgehospital.cat.
authors.forename: Pino
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: OCD Clinical and Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain; CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación en Red de Salud Mental), Carlos III Health Institute, Spain. Electronic address: jmenchon@bellvitgehospital.cat.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Menchón
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Harm avoidance; Incompleteness; Not just right experiences; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder