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The expression of anger and its relationship to symptoms and cognitions in obsessive–compulsive disorder
Author(s) -
Whiteside Stephen P.,
Abramowitz Jonathan S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20066
Subject(s) - anger , psychology , hostility , clinical psychology , anxiety , distress , cognition , association (psychology) , obsessive compulsive , psychiatry , psychotherapist
We compared the association between obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and the expression of anger in a sample of 71 patients and 71 college students. Some authors [Rubenstein et al., J Anxiety Disord 1995;9:1–9] have proposed that anger and hostility underlie the symptoms of OCD; however, there has been little empirical study of this relationship. One recent study [Whiteside and Abramowitz, Cog Therapy Res 2004;28:259–268] with college undergraduates found that the association between OCD symptoms and anger was attributable to depressive symptoms. In the present study, we compared the expression of anger in a sample of patients diagnosed with OCD and nonclinical volunteers. Consistent with the previous study, we found increased levels of anger in patients with OCD as compared to control participants; however, these differences could be attributed to between‐group differences in general distress. These results were discussed within the framework of the cognitive theory of OCD. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.