The relationship between obsessive compulsive disorder and mental contamination (MC): psychometric properties of Vancouver obsessive compulsive inventory-MC scale and thought-action fusion-contamination scale

Abstract

The relationship between obsessive compulsive disorder and mental contamination (MC): psychometric properties of Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-MC Scale and ThoughtAction Fusion-Contamination ScaleObjective: Mental contamination is defined as feelings of internal dirtiness in absence of actual contact with a dirty physical object or a person. Mental contamination is considered to play an important role in maintenance and persistence of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the Turkish version of two objective measures of mental contamination: Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Mental Contamination Scale (VOCI-MC) and Thought-Action Fusion-Contamination Scale (TAF-CS). Method: The participants were 255 university students (183 females and 70 males) with the age range of 18-28 years. The participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire set consisted of VOCI-MC, TAF-CS, Thought-Action Fusion Scale (TAFS), Disgust Scale-Revised, Trait Anger Expression Inventory and Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R). Results: Reliability analyses indicated that internal consistency of VOCI-MC and TAF-CS were 0.93 and 0.92, and test-retest reliabilities were 0.79 and 0.61, respectively. Consistent with the original study, the results of explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that both scales had one factor structure. Convergent and divergent validity analyses revealed that both scales were positively correlated with OCI-R total scores and its subscales as well as TAF total score and its subscales; but this relationship was significantly less strong for Trait Anger and Disgust Sensitivity. While VOCI-MC significantly predicted OCD symptomatology, TAF-CS had no predictive power in this regard. Conclusions:The results support that psychometric properties of the Turkish versions of the scales meet acceptable standards for validity and reliability, and therefore can be used among Turkish population. Keywords: Obsessive compulsive disorder, reliability, validity ÖZET Zihinsel kirlenmenin (ZK) obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk ile ilişkisi: Vancouver Obsesif-Kompulsif Envanteri-ZK ve Düşünce-Eylem Kaynaşması-Kirlenme Ölçekleri'nin psikometrik özellikleri Amaç: Zihinsel kirlenme, bireyin kirli bir nesne veya kişiyle fiziksel olarak doğrudan temas etmemesine rağmen, içsel bir kirlenme hissi yaşaması olarak kavramlaştırılmakta ve obsesif-kompulsif bozukluğun (OKB) şiddetlenmesinde ve devam etmesinde önemli bir rol oynadığı belirtilmektedir. Bu araştırmada, OKB ile ilişkili bir kavram olan zihinsel kirlenme olgusunu objektif olarak değerlendiren iki ölçüm aracı olan Vancouver Obsesif-Kompulsif Envanteri-Zihinsel Kirlenme (VOKE-ZK) ve Düşünce-Eylem Kaynaşması-Kirlenme Ölçeklerinin (DEK-KÖ) Türkçeye uyarlanarak psikometrik özelliklerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Araştırmanın örneklemini 183'ü kadın 70'i erkek, yaş aralığı 18-28 arasında bulunan 255 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmuştur. Katılımcılardan VOKE-ZK, DEK-KÖ, Düşünce-Eylem Kayn...

Mental contamination among trauma survivors: A scoping review.

“…The most frequently used measure to assess MC among trauma survivors was the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory–Mental Contamination Scale (VOCI-MC; Rachman, 2005), a 20-item instrument (e.g., “I often feel dirty under my skin”) that demonstrates good test–retest reliability (Inozu et al, 2016), strong internal consistency, and strong convergent, divergent, and discriminative validity (Radomsky et al, 2014). The VOCI-MC assesses the central cognitive-affective component of MC (i.e., feelings of dirtiness and beliefs of contamination in the absence of physical contact), emotional responses that accompany MC (i.e., guilt, shame), and behavioral urges (i.e., to wash, to cleanse one’s mind).…”