Obsessionality and the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts

To explore the role of the thought enhancement and thought rebound effects in obsessionality, the relationship between obsessional symptomology and responding during and after the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts was examined. Ss first completed the Maudsley Obsessive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour research and therapy 1998-04, Vol.36 (4), p.403-416
Main Author: Rutledge, Patricia C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Analysis of Variance
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental health
Neuroses
Obsessive Behavior - physiopathology
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Thinking - physiology
Volition - physiology
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Summary:To explore the role of the thought enhancement and thought rebound effects in obsessionality, the relationship between obsessional symptomology and responding during and after the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts was examined. Ss first completed the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) [ Rachman and Hodgson, 1980]. Later, Ss indicated their most frequent intrusive thought and then completed a thought suppression protocol in which they first expressed, then suppressed, and, again, expressed that thought. Ss' scores on the MOCI were examined in relation to their pattern of responding in the suppression protocol to investigate whether Ss who were higher in obsessionality were more prone to enhancement and/or rebound effects with an unpleasant personal intrusive thought than Ss who were lower in obsessionality. The following results were obtained: (1) there was a positive relationship between obsessionality levels and thought enhancement for female Ss; (2) there was a negative relationship between obsessionality levels and thought enhancement for male Ss; and (3) there was no relationship between obsessionality levels and thought rebound. These findings suggest that the rebound effect is unrelated to obsessionality and that the enhancement effect relationship to obsessionality may be more complex than previously hypothesized.
ISSN:0005-7967
1873-622X
DOI:10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00018-7