The cross-cultural and transdiagnostic nature of unwanted mental intrusions

Abstract

Background/Objective Unwanted mental intrusions (UMIs), typically discussed in relation to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), are highly prevalent, regardless of the specific nationality, religion, and/or cultural context. Studies have also shown that UMIs related to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Illness anxiety/Hypochondriasis (IA-H), and Eating Disorders (EDs) are commonly experienced. However, the influence of culture on these UMIs and their transdiagnostic nature has not been investigated. Method Participants were 1,473 non-clinical individuals from seven countries in Europe, the Middle-East, and South America. All the subjects completed the Questionnaire of Unpleasant Intrusive Thoughts, which assesses the occurrence and discomfort of four UMI contents related to OCD, BDD, IA-H, and EDs, and symptom questionnaires on the four disorders. Results Overall, 64% of the total sample reported having experienced the four UMIs. The EDs intrusions were the most frequently experienced, whereas hypochondriacal intrusions were the least frequent but the most disturbing. All the UMIs were significantly related to each other in frequency and disturbance, and all of them were associated with clinical measures of OCD, BDD, IA-H, and EDs. Conclusions UMIs are a common phenomenon across different cultural contexts and operate transdiagnostically across clinically different disorders.

Health Anxiety Predicts the Perceived Dangerousness of COVID-19 over and above Intrusive Illness-Related Thoughts, Contamination Symptoms, and State and Trait Negative Affect

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“…Depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are consistently associated with exposure to stressful life events ( Kendler and Gardner, 2016 ; Kendler et al., 2003 ). Intrusive thoughts , anxious thoughts that are unwanted, recurrent, and often come out of the blue, are stressful in and of themselves, and are also associated with several stress-related disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, Pascual-Vera et al., 2019 ; posttraumatic stress disorder, Falsetti et al., 2002 ). Insomnia , which contributes to a wide array of mental health and quality of life impairments, is often prompted by negative life events ( Sinha, 2016 ).…”

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“…Dysmorphic concern (DC) may be defined as excessive preoccupation about one or several physical characteristics perceived as defects or imperfections usually unnoticeable by others ( Oosthuizen, Lambert, & Castle, 1998 ). They may appear as unwanted mental intrusions that a person makes an effort to suppress to reduce the distress caused by them, most often through compulsive behavior (checking physical appearance in reflective surfaces, touch the defect, camouflage it or compare oneself with others) ( Pascual-Vera et al, 2019 , Pascual-Vera and Belloch, 2018 ). DC are located on a continuum of severity where the most extreme manifestation is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), and they seem to be more frequent in women ( Senín-Calderón, Gálvez-González, Perona-Garcelán, Camacho, & Rodríguez-Testal, 2019 ).…”