(PS2-89) Responsibility/overestimation of Threat Moderates the Association Between Washing Symptoms and Checking Compulsions

Obsessive beliefs, including inflated responsibility and overestimation of threat, have long been recognized as central to the etiology and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms (OCCWG, 2005). However, although there is much evidence to support that obsessive beliefs are critical to our understanding of OC symptom development and experience, relatively less is understood about how obsessive beliefs influence the interrelations among symptom dimensions. Washing symptoms and checking compulsions represent prevalent but distinct symptom dimensions in OC phenomenology (Mataix-Cols et al., 2005). Responsibility/threat estimation beliefs, typically associated with checking compulsions (Rachman, 2002), also might contribute to washing symptoms by amplifying OC contamination concerns. Hence, these beliefs could be a common factor contributing to washing symptoms and checking compulsions. Investigating this relationship can deepen our understanding of OC symptomatology and guide targeted behavioral interventions. To address this gap in the literature, the current study investigated whether responsibility/threat estimation beliefs moderate the association between OC washing symptoms and checking compulsions.

A racially/ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate students (total n = 3,856; 47% White, 24% Black, 22% Hispanic, 7% Asian American) completed a battery of online questionnaires, including the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ-44; OCCWG, 2005) and the Padua Inventory – Washington State University Revision (PI-WSUR; Burns, 1995). The primary variables of interest were OBQ-44 Responsibility/Threat Estimation (R/T), PI-WSUR Checking (Checking), and PI-WSUR Washing (Washing).

To examine the role of responsibility/threat estimation in moderating the association between washing symptoms and checking compulsions, Moderation analyses were conducted using Model 1 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2012). The overall model—with R/T moderating the effect of Washing on Checking—was significant (F_{(3, 3849)} = 724.12, p < .001). Washing significantly predicted Checking after controlling for R/T (β = 0.21, SE = 0.05, t₍₃₈₄₉₎ = 4.52, p < .001). The interaction between Washing and R/T had a significant effect on Checking (F_{(1, 3849)} = 31.72, p < .001). Conditional effects revealed significant effects of Washing on Checking at various levels of R/T, but the effect was stronger for elevated levels of R/T (β = .50, SE = .01, t₍₃₈₄₉₎ = 31.33, p < .001) and weaker for lower levels of R/T (β = .36, SE = .02, t₍₃₈₄₉₎ = 16.66, p < .001).

This research examines how responsibility/threat estimation beliefs may influence the association between OC washing symptoms and checking compulsions. Findings suggest that R/T may significantly shape the association between the two symptom dimensions. Tailoring cognitive-behavioral interventions to target R/T may enhance treatment outcomes by addressing common cognitive processes underlying both forms of symptoms. Future research should aim to replicate these findings in clinical samples, employ longitudinal designs, and explore the moderating role of other belief domains in OC symptom experience.