Multiple Pathways to and from Responsibility Interpretations and the Development of Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms

Responsibility beliefs and interpretations are paramount to the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, yet very little is understood about the development of responsibility-related cognitions. The present study utilized a large non-clinical sample (N = 356), retrospective (i.e., self-reported developmental factors) and cross sectional data (i.e., self-reported severity of responsibility interpretations and OC-symptoms), and structural equation modeling to test the direct and indirect relations between developmental pathways to responsibility-related cognitions, responsibility interpretations of intrusions, and specific OC symptom dimensions. Results showed that: responsibility interpretations fully mediated the relations between a highly responsible childhood and 1) OC-obsessing and 2) OC-hoarding symptoms. Responsibility interpretations also fully mediated the relations between events in which an individual caused actual or imagined harm and 1) OC-obsessing, 2) OC-hoarding, 3) OC-arranging, and 4) OC-checking. Moreover, these effects varied across genders. Interpretations, limitations, and future directions are discussed in detail.