Domains of disgust differentially predict types of phobic symptoms

Abstract

The present study examines the association between disgust domains and phobic symptoms (i.e., fears and blood-injections symptoms) in a nonclinical sample (N = 580). Disgust was assessed by two self-report scales, i.e., the Disgust Scale—Revised (DS-R; Haidt et al., 1994) and the Multidimensional Disgust Scale (Escala Multidimensional de Sensibilidad al Asco, EMA; Sandín et al., 2013). The EMA is a new scale which assesses the following domains of disgust: hygiene, moral, sexual, body envelope violation, small-animals, and deterioration/disease. Regression analyses revealed that disgust significantly predicted overall phobic symptoms even controlling for DS-R, negative affect and anxiety sensitivity. Further and more significant, based on regression analyses we found differential patterns of specific predictions between domains of disgust and types of phobic symptoms. The possible implications of these findings concerning differential relationships between kinds of disgust and kinds of phobic symptoms are discussed.