Obsession subtypes: relationships with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, dysfunctional beliefs and thought control strategies

Abstract

Obsessive themes can be classified into two main categories: autogenous obsessions and reactive obsessions. The first comprise highly unacceptable and unrealistic thoughts, including aggressive, sexual and repulsive concerns, that can be conceptualised as “pure obsessions” (PO), whereas the second relate to relatively realistic doubts or thoughts with common themes dealing with contamina-tion, mistakes or accidents, associated with overt actions taken to prevent the occurrence of negative outcomes, that can be conceptualised as obsessions plus compulsions (O-C). In this study, the differ-ences between PO and O-C in 39 Obsessive-Compulsive Disordered (OCD) outpatients are exam-ined. Results: the O-C subtype associated with higher OCD severity and obsessive-compulsive symp-tom measures, whereas the PO subtype related to harming impulses only. PO also showed a signifi-cant relationship with dysfunctional beliefs as to responsibility, overestimation of threat and meta-cognitive beliefs (thought-action fusion, importance of thoughts and the control over them), as well as with a tendency to the concealment of obsessions. O-C only related to worry as a thought control strategy.