Perseveration induces dissociative uncertainty in obsessive–compulsive disorder

• Published in: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry 2016-09, Vol.52, p.1-10
• Main Authors: Giele, Catharina L, van den Hout, Marcel A, Engelhard, Iris M, Dek, Eliane C.P, Toffolo, Marieke B.J, Cath, Danielle C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Case-Control Studies; Dissociation; Dissociative Disorders - complications; Dissociative Disorders - psychology; Female; Humans; Male; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - complications; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; OCD; Perseveration; Psychiatry; Semantic satiation; Uncertainty; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0005-7916; 1873-7943
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.02.001

Abstract Background and objectives Obsessive compulsive (OC)-like perseveration paradoxically increases feelings of uncertainty. We studied whether the underlying mechanism between perseveration and uncertainty is a reduced accessibility of meaning (‘semantic satiation’). Methods OCD patients (n = 24) and matched non-clinical controls (n = 24) repeated words 2 (non-perseveration) or 20 times (perseveration). They decided whether this word was related to another target word. Speed of relatedness judgments and feelings of dissociative uncertainty were measured. The effects of real-life perseveration on dissociative uncertainty were tested in a smaller subsample of the OCD group (n = 9). Results Speed of relatedness judgments was not affected by perseveration. However, both groups reported more dissociative uncertainty after perseveration compared to non-perseveration, which was higher in OCD patients. Patients reported more dissociative uncertainty after ‘clinical’ perseveration compared to non-perseveration.. Limitations Both parts of this study are limited by some methodological issues and a small sample size. Conclusions Although the mechanism behind ‘perseveration → uncertainty’ is still unclear, results suggest that the effects of perseveration are counterproductive.