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01-10-2006 | Original Article

A Cross-cultural Test of the Cognitive Theory of Obsessions and Compulsions: A Comparison of Greek, Italian, and American Individuals—a Preliminary Study

Auteurs: Claudio Sica, Steven Taylor, Willem A. Arrindell, Ezio Sanavio

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Uitgave 5/2006

Abstract

A widely-held theory is that obsessions arise from the misinterpretation of normal intrusive thoughts (e.g., misinterpreting unwanted harm-related thoughts as a sign that one is going to act on them). This leads the person to perform compulsions such as repeated checking. Misinterpretations are said to arise from various types of beliefs (e.g., the belief that thoughts inevitably give rise to actions). In support of this theory, some studies have shown that such beliefs are correlated with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. We investigated whether the theory can be extended to conditions in which cultural differences are taken in consideration. Measures of OC beliefs and symptoms were completed by participants in Greece (n = 46) and Italy (n = 348) and, for comparison purposes, the US (n = 73). Beliefs were correlated with symptoms in all three groups. There were significant, albeit modest, cross-cultural effects. In particular, the relation between beliefs and cleaning and checking compulsions tended to be low in Greek participants, compared to Italian and US counterparts. Although the results generally support the cognitive model, some culture-specific modifications may be required, possibly by including variables that moderate or attenuate the correlations between OC symptoms and putatively related beliefs.

vorige artikel Early Maladaptive Schemas and Social Phobia

volgende artikel The Effect of Mental Health Problems on Children’s Ability to Discriminate Amongst Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

Details of the outcome of each regression analysis available from the first author

Internal consistency information for each culture and each subscale available from the first author

Authors wish to thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion

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Titel: A Cross-cultural Test of the Cognitive Theory of Obsessions and Compulsions: A Comparison of Greek, Italian, and American Individuals—a Preliminary Study
Auteurs: Claudio Sica
Steven Taylor
Willem A. Arrindell
Ezio Sanavio
Publicatiedatum: 01-10-2006
Uitgeverij: Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Uitgave 5/2006
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9078-x

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