Religiosity, spirituality, and obsessive-compulsive disorder-related symptoms in clinical and nonclinical samples.

Abstract

Despite speculation that highly religious individuals may be predisposed toward developing obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), results regarding the relationship between religiosity and spirituality and OCD symptoms are mixed. Limitations of the literature include the use of measures with unknown psychometric properties that do not differentiate between facets of religiosity, a limited range of religious affiliations, and predominant use of undergraduate samples. The current study attempted to clarify the relationship using multidimensional measures. Seven hundred forty-six nonclinical and 24 clinical participants (with a principal diagnosis of OCD) from a wide range of religious affiliations completed questionnaires. In both samples, obsessional thinking was positively associated with scrupulosity (r ϭ .56 and r ϭ .73 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively) but not religious fundamentalism. Compulsions were not meaningfully associated with religiosity and spirituality. Religious crisis was positively associated with scrupulosity (r ϭ .40 and r ϭ .73 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively) and thought-action fusion (r ϭ .26 and r ϭ .53 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively). In the clinical sample, OCD severity was negatively associated with spirituality (r ϭ Ϫ.42). The belief that the universe is ordered and humanity is connected (universality; a facet of spirituality) significantly moderated the relationship between religiosity and moral thought-action fusion (high religiosity was only associated with high moral thought-action fusion when universality was low, explaining 18.42% of variance in the relationship). These findings suggest that religious individuals with OCD may benefit from enhancing spirituality through consultation with a religious authority or within therapy.

Religiosity and religious scrupulosity as markers of poor mental health in the Latinx community: A mediation model.

“…Historically, studies have not included religious scrupulosity in analyses, which, based on the current study, confounds the relation between religiosity and mental health if not controlled. Our findings are in line with more recent studies highlighting the importance of accounting for both religiosity and religious scrupulosity when measuring mental health impairment (e.g., Henderson et al, 2022). Yet, our findings extend the current literature base by examining these relations specifically in Latinx individuals, using more complex statistical analyses to more accurately account for the multifaceted relation between religiosity, religious scrupulosity, clinical impairment, and covariates in this population.…”

“…One such study showed a distinction between religiosity and religious scrupulosity in a large sample ( n = 746) of community members of various religious denominations (e.g., Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Agnostic, Spiritual, Atheist), such that obsessional thinking was significantly positively associated with religious scrupulosity ( r = .56) but not religious fundamentalism ( r = .06). However, only eight people in the sample identified as Hispanic, Latin American, or European Hispanic, and statistical techniques used (i.e., bivariate correlations) may not account for the complex relation between variables (Henderson et al, 2022). Considering the influence of religion in Latinx culture, and the impact of culture on symptom profiles (Rosa-Alcázar & Iniesta-Sepúlveda, 2018), the present study specifically investigated whether the relation between religiosity, religious scrupulosity, and mental health impairment extends to the Latinx population.…”

Scrupulosity in the Network of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, Religious Struggles, and Self-Compassion: A Study in a Non-Clinical Sample

“…However, if unwanted religious thoughts are accompanied with beliefs about the importance of those thoughts and an intolerance of uncertainty (e.g., thought-action fusion; Shafran et al 1996), they may develop into clinical obsessions (Abramowitz and Jcoby 2014). This indicates that scrupulosity could constitute a dimension origin in common religious struggle or doubts (Henderson et al 2022), which may develop into a pathological presentation as OCD disorder in the presence of risk factors associated with poor insight and avoiding uncertainty (Tolin et al 2001).…”

“…Treatment results of OCD with scrupulosity symptoms are poor, which is attributed mainly to lack of knowledge about the nature of religious obsession among clinicians but also due to a reinforcement of clients' obsessions by members of their religious community (Huppert and Siev 2010). However, scrupulosity also appears with a different intensity in people without a clinical diagnosis of OCD (Abramowitz et al 2002;Henderson et al 2022). This indicates that scrupulosity could be regarded as a phenomenon of the intersection between common religious/spiritual experiences and clinically-relevant obsessive thoughts.…”

“…Religion is a source of consolation and comfort for religious individuals, but also has the potential for strain and internal conflicts (Exline 2013). These internal conflicts, such as religious and spiritual struggle (Exline et al 2014) or religious crises (Henderson et al 2022) could be regarded as a source of unwanted thoughts which may develop into an obsession in particular individuals. Personal risk factors for development of clinical obsessions are an intolerance of uncertainty and other thought distortions (e.g., thought-action fusion; Abramowitz and Jcoby 2014), which are associated with poor insight, less self-compassion, and lower mindfulness (Deniz 2021;Leeuwerik et al 2020).…”