Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Enhanced Responsibility and Threat Beliefs on Self-Report and Behavioural Indices During a Sorting Task for Young People with OCD

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We aimed to experimentally assess the role of cognitive processes in provoking anxiety and compulsive behaviours in young people with OCD, and to determine whether specific cognitive appraisal subtypes (e.g., threat) best explain OCD symptoms. 29 young people with a principal diagnosis of OCD, 30 young people with an anxiety disorder other than OCD, and 25 young people meeting no diagnostic criteria completed a sorting task designed to increase or decrease responsibility/threat biases. We expected that OCD participants in the high responsibility/threat group would demonstrate higher scores on subjective (belief and anxiety ratings) and behavioural variables (e.g., urge to check, time taken to sort) compared to anxious and nonclinical control groups. Young people with OCD in the inflated responsibility/threat condition were more anxious and showed enhanced delay behaviours (e.g., slower on the task, more time checking) compared to control groups, who were not affected by the manipulation. Regression analyses revealed that threat appraisals played a more prominent role than responsibility beliefs in state anxiety ratings, overall time taken and time spent checking. The present study supports cognitive models of OCD showing a clear relationship between inflated responsibility beliefs, threat beliefs and perfectionism levels and OCD-related behaviours.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Eleven percent (n = 9) of participants experienced food allergies. In order to assess whether the presence of such allergies for participants may disproportionately impact group and condition effects, a Chi square analysis was conducted to assess the frequency of food allergies across the three groups and two conditions, indicating no significant group differences, p = .37, or significant differences across conditions, p = .67.

  2. The experimenter calculated the number of errors made by adding the number of lollies incorrectly sorted for each participant; the error rate was extremely low, with only two participants making a single error, incorrectly sorting one lolly each. Similarly, very few participants (n = 7) made a modification while sorting the lollies; of these, the majority made only one modification. Since modifications and the number of errors made were extremely rare, these variables were removed from further analyses.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the depression anxiety stress scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arntz, A., Voncken, M., & Goosen, A. C. (2007). Responsibility and obsessive–compulsive disorder: An experimental test. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 425–435.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, P. M., & Healy, L. J. (2003). An examination of the cognitive processes involved in childhood obsessive–compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 285–299.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, P. M., & Healy-Farrell, L. J. (2003). Perceived responsibility in juvenile obsessive-compulsive disorder: An experimental manipulation. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 430–441.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boschen, M. J., & Vuksanovic, D. (2007). Deteriorating memory confidence, responsibility perceptions and repeated checking: Comparisons in OCD and control samples. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2098–2109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bouchard, C., Rhéaume, J., & Ladouceur, R. (1999). Responsibility and perfectionism in OCD: An experimental study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 239–248.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, A. T. (1974). Compulsive neurosis: A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 311–318.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coles, M. E., Wolters, L. H., Sochting, I., De Haan, E., Pietrefesa, A. S., & Whiteside, S. P. (2010). Development and initial validation of the obsessive belief questionnaire-child version (OBQ-CV). Depression and Anxiety, 27(10), 982–991.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, L. J., & Barrett, P. M. (2006). Obsessive–compulsive disorder across developmental trajectory: Cognitive processing of threat in children, adolescents and adults. British Journal of Psychology, 97, 95–114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., & Erdfelder, E. (1992). GPOWER: A priori-, post hoc-, and compromise power analyses for MS-DOS [Computer Program]. Bonn, Germany: Bonn University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitch, K. E., & Cougle, J. R. (2013). An evaluation of obsessive beliefs as predictors of performance on in vivo assessments of obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37, 207–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R., Gagnon, F., & Thibodeau, N. (1993). Beliefs about obsessional thoughts. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 15, 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J. D., & Crawford, J. R. (2005). The short-form version of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS-21): Construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(2), 227–239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heyman, I., Fombonne, E., Simmons, H., Ford, T., Meltzer, H., & Goodman, R. (2003). Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the British nationwide survey of child mental health. International Review of Psychiatry, 15, 178–184.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. K., & Menzies, R. G. (1997a). The cognitive mediation of obsessive-compulsive handwashing. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 843–850.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. K., & Menzies, R. G. (1997b). Danger ideation reduction therapy (DIRT): Preliminary findings with three obsessive–compulsive washers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 955–960.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, M. K., & Menzies, R. G. (1998). Danger ideation reduction therapy (DIRT) for obsessive–compulsive washers. A controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 959–970.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Julien, D., O’Connor, K. P., & Aardema, F. (2007). Intrusive thoughts, obsessions, and appraisals in obsessive–compulsive disorder: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 366–383.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1992). Children’s depression inventory (CDI). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladouceur, R., Rhéaume, J., & Aublet, F. (1997). Excessive responsibility in obsessional concerns: A fine-grained experimental analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 423–427.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ladouceur, R., Rhéaume, J., Freeston, M. H., Aublet, F., Jean, K., Lachance, S., et al. (1995). Experimental manipulations of responsibility: An analogue test for models of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 937–946.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Libby, S., Reynolds, S., Derisley, J., & Clark, S. (2004). Cognitive appraisals in young people with obsessive–compulsive disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1076–1084.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lopatka, C., & Rachman, S. (1995). Perceived responsibility and compulsive checking: An experimental analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 673–684.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: The Psychology Foundation of Australia, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyneham, H. J., Abbott, M. J., & Rapee, R. M. (2007). Interrater reliability of the anxiety disorders interview schedule for DSM-IV: Child and parent version. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(6), 731–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyneham, H. J., & Rapee, R. M. (2005). Agreement between telephone and in-person delivery of a structured interview for anxiety disorders in children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(3), 274–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnúsdóttir, I., & Smári, J. (2004). Are responsibility attitudes related to obsessive–compulsive symptoms in schoolchildren? Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 33, 21–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mancini, F., D’Olimpio, F., & Cieri, L. (2004). Manipulation of responsibility in non-clinical subjects: Does expectation of failure exacerbate obsessive–compulsive behaviors? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 449–457.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mantz, S., & Abbott, M. J. (2016a). Obsessive compulsive disorder in paediatric and adult samples: Nature, treatment and cognitive processes. A review of the theoretical and empirical literature. Behaviour Change, 34, 1–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mantz, S., & Abbott, M. J. (2016b). The relationship between responsibility beliefs and symptoms and processes in obsessive compulsive disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Obsessive–Compulsive and Related Disorders, 14, 13–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. S., & Leonard, H. L. (1996). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: A review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1265–1273.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, L., Reynolds, S., & Derisley, J. (2007). Examining cognitive models of obsessive compulsive disorder in adolescents. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 35, 149–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nauta, M. H., Scholing, A., Rapee, R. M., Abbott, M., Spence, S. H., & Waters, A. (2004). A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: Psychometric properties and comparison with child-report in a clinic and normal sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(7), 813–839.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (1997). Cognitive assessment of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 667–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orgilés, M., Fernández-Martínez, I., Guillén-Riquelme, A., Espada, J. P., & Essau, C. A. (2016). A systematic review of the factor structure and reliability of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 333–340.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parrish, C. L., & Radomsky, A. S. (2006). An experimental investigation of responsibility and reassurance: Relationships with compulsive checking. International Journal of Behavioural Consultation and Therapy, 2, 174–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pauls, D., Alsobrook, J., Goodman, W., Rasmussen, S., & Leckman, J. (1995). A family study of obsessive–compulsive disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 76–84.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piacentini, J., Bergman, R. L., Keller, M., & McCracken, J. (2003). Functional impairment in children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 13, 61–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pişgin, İ, & Özen, D. (2010). Faulty appraisals and belief domains in obsessive compulsive disorder from childhood to adulthood. Current Approaches in Psychiatry, 2, 117–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S. (1993). Obsessions, responsibility and guilt. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 149–154.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S. (1997). A cognitive theory of obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 793–802.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S. (2002). A cognitive theory of compulsive checking. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 625–639.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves, J., Reynolds, S., Coker, S., & Wilson, C. (2010). An experimental manipulation of responsibility in children: A test of the inflated responsibility model of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 41, 228–233.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, S., & Reeves, J. (2008). Do cognitive models of obsessive compulsive disorder apply to children and adolescents? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36, 463–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhéaume, J., Freeston, M. H., Dugas, M. J., Letarte, H., & Ladouceur, R. (1995). Perfectionism, responsibility and obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 785–794.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salkovskis, P. M. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive problems: A cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 571–583.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salkovskis, P. M. (1989). Cognitive behavioural factors and the persistence of intrusive thoughts in obsessional problems. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 677–682.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salkovskis, P. M., Richards, H., & Forrester, E. (1995). The relationship between obsessional problems and intrusive thoughts. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 281–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shafran, R. (1997). The manipulation of responsibility in obsessive–compulsive disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36, 397–407.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shafran, R., Frampton, I., Heyman, I., Reynolds, M., Teachman, B., & Rachman, S. (2003). The preliminary development of a new self-report measure for OCD in young people. Journal of Adolescence, 26(1), 137–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shoenfelt, J. L., & Weston, C. G. (2007). Managing obsessive compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. Psychiatry, 4, 47–53.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sica, C., Coradeschi, D., Sanavio, E., Dorz, S., Manchisi, D., & Novara, C. (2004). A study of the psychometric properties of the obsessive beliefs inventory and interpretations of intrusions inventory on clinical Italian individuals. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 18, 291–307.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, W. K., & Albano, A. M. (1996). Anxiety disorders interview schedule for DSM-IV: Parent version. San Antonio: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, W. K., Saavedra, L. M., & Pina, A. A. (2001). Test-retest reliability of anxiety symptoms and diagnoses with the anxiety disorders interview schedule for DSM-IV: Child and parent versions. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(8), 937–944.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spence, S. H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(5), 545–566.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spielberger, C. D., Edwards, C. D., Lushene, R. E., Montuori, J., & Platzek, D. (1973). The state trait anxiety inventory for children: Preliminary manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychiatric Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, S., & Wang, S. (2015). The children’s depression inventory in worldwide child development research: A reliability generalization study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(8), 2352–2363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolin, D. F., Worhunsky, P., & Maltby, N. (2006). Are “obsessive” beliefs specific to OCD? A comparison across anxiety disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uher, R., Heyman, I., Turner, C. M., & Shafran, R. (2008). Self-, parent-report and interview measures of obsessive–compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(6), 979–990.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vaccaro, L. D., Jones, M. K., Menzies, R. G., & Clare, St, T (2010). Danger ideation reduction therapy (DIRT) for obsessive-compulsive checkers: A comprehensive guide to treatment. Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verhaak, L., & De Haan, E. (2007). Cognitions in children with OCD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 16, 353–361.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteside, S. P., & Brown, A. M. (2008). Exploring the utility of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scales parent-and child-report forms in a North American sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(8), 1440–1446.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, K. A., & Chambless, D. L. (1999). Inflated perceptions of responsibility and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 325–335.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zohar, A. H. (1999). The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 8, 445–460.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the young people and their families who participated, Rivendell Hospital staff, as well as Benjamin Chen, Aberdine Donaldson, Alice Lo, and Chloe McGrath for their research assistance.

Funding

We have no funding sources to declare and have received no funding from external sources.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychology Unit (M02F), School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Sharlene C. Mantz & Maree J. Abbott

  2. Rivendell Child and Adolescent Unit, Concord Hospital, Hospital Rd, Concord West, NSW, 2138, Australia

    Margot O’Brien & Felicity A. Waters

Authors
  1. Sharlene C. Mantz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Margot O’Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Felicity A. Waters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maree J. Abbott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maree J. Abbott.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Sharlene Mantz, Margot O’Brien, Felicity Waters and Maree Abbott declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Animal Rights

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mantz, S.C., O’Brien, M., Waters, F.A. et al. The Impact of Enhanced Responsibility and Threat Beliefs on Self-Report and Behavioural Indices During a Sorting Task for Young People with OCD. Cogn Ther Res 43, 498–513 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-018-9946-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-018-9946-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation