Reagan Kunesh, “Emotion Regulation Deficits in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder”
Mentor: Han Joo Lee, Psychology
Poster #114
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts known as obsessions and repetitive behaviors known as compulsions. Individuals with OCD may have difficulties with emotion regulation (ER), the ability to be aware of and control one’s emotional states adaptively. Overall, there is a lack of understanding about how difficulties with ER impacts OCD severity. Due to the heterogenous nature of OCD and the multiple dimensions of ER (strategies, non-acceptance, impulse, goals, awareness, and clarity) there may be differences in how each contributes to one’s OC severity. This study aims to understand the association between OCD severity and the dimensions of ER as well as how these relationships differ between two symptom motivators for OCD: Harm avoidance (HA) and Incompleteness (INC). Study participants were given a set of questionnaires to answer regarding their OCD symptom severity (OCI-R), INC or HA (OC-TCDQ-R2), difficulties with emotion regulation (DERS-SF), and general depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (DASS-21). Participants identified as primarily female and White and ranged in age from 18-59. We conducted two hierarchical linear regressions. In predicting HA severity, greater difficulty with nonacceptance of emotions was significant, even when controlling for general psychological distress (β = 0.14, t = 2.35,
p < 0.05). In predicting INC severity, greater difficulty with goals related to emotion regulation was significant as well (β = 0.16, t = 3.03, p < 0.01). Additional findings will be discussed further. These findings may provide important implications for treatment in individuals with OCD suggesting that incorporating ER strategies and skills into treatment may be beneficial. ER strategies could lead to better success and engagement with both traditional treatment and the overall reduction of OCD symptoms and severity.