Emotional Processing and Personality as Predictors of Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms in College Students

Abstract

The categorical definition of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and exclusive focus on thoughts and behaviors, have constrained the study and treatment of its symptoms. The present study's aim was to search for relationships among emotional processing dimensions, five major personality dimensions, and self-perceived obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The participants were 100 college students, and the questionnaires used were a selection of images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), the Self-assessment Manikin (SAM), the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), and the NEO-FFI. We found differences in emotional processing dimensions between participants with high and low DOCS scores, grouped according to sex (d = .56); and evidence that the neuroticism and agreeableness dimensions predict self-perceived obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Emotional processing dimensions and personality are considered useful to comprehending obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which lends support to dimensional models of OC symptomatology, as well as planning and developing psychological interventions.

Keywords: college students; emotional processing; emotions; obsessive-compulsive symptoms; personality.