Distress From Sexual Thoughts: Do Religiosity, Emotions, and Thought Appraisal Matter?

Abstract

Sexually intrusive thoughts (SITs) are commonly experienced; yet, there is a paucity of research on distress related to them. Given that the content is similar for intrusive thoughts and obsessions, examining factors related to obsessions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (e.g., thought appraisal and relationships to emotions) may help explain distress from SITs in nonclinical populations. Differences in affective experiences and religiosity may also explain variations in distress from SITs. Nonclinical participants (N 5 291) completed questionnaires about frequency of, and distress from, SITs, thought appraisal, beliefs about sexual desire, and emotions. Distress from SITs was correlated with thought appraisal and beliefs about sexual desire, but not with religiosity. In regression analyses, beliefs about sexual desire and the frequency of SITs each predicted distress from SITs. Although thought appraisal is often implicated in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, these results indicate that beliefs about emotions may have a greater impact on distress.

Brooding Over the Closet: Differentiating Sexual Orientation Rumination and Sexual Orientation Obsessions

“…Another way individuals could be experiencing repetitive thoughts about sexual orientation is called sexual orientation obsessions, which are often but not always manifested as part of a larger condition, OCD (Wetterneck et al, 2011;Williams, 2008;Williams & Farris, 2011). Affecting 2.3% of people in the United States in their lifetime (Ruscio et al, 2010), OCD is characterized by obsessions, which refer to recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that cause distress, which in turn elicit compulsions, which are repetitive behaviors or mental actions that function to decrease obsessional distress (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).…”

“…Although not an epidemiological study, Williams and Farris (2011) found that among individuals who were seeking treatment from a variety of OCD clinics, 8% reported current sexual orientation obsessions and 11.9% endorsed lifetime symptoms. However, individuals not diagnosed with OCD may also experience sexual obsessions (Wetterneck et al, 2011), which may include sexual orientation obsessions.…”

Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder and Sexuality: A Narrative Review

“…60 It is also believed that in a sexually repressive society, individuals with negative beliefs about sex more frequently have sexual obsessions. 61 20% to 30% of individuals with OCD report having sexual obsessions. 62 They have been reported in cases having history of sexual abuse and in children 63 as well.…”

The Normative Nature of Aggressive Intrusive Thinking Among an Underserved Incarcerated Population Compared With a Student Sample

“…Although intrusive thoughts occur in nonclinical populations and are considered normal (Morillo, Belloch, & García-Soriano, 2007;Purdon & Clark, 1994), there is some difference in content between clinical and nonclinical individuals, with certain content considered abnormal and unique to clinical populations . Intrusive thoughts may take on a variety of themes (e.g., sexuality, aggressiveness, perfectionism, fear of loss, and contamination; Purdon & Clark, 1994;Wetterneck, Smith, Burgess, & Hart, 2011) and different forms (e.g., thoughts, images, or impulses; Freeston, Dugas, & Ladouceur, 1996). While these thoughts are ephemeral and nonimpactful for the majority of individuals (Freeston & Ladouceur, 1999), they may be highly distressing for some.…”