Abstract
The objectives of the present study were to investigate the relationship between obsessive–compulsive symptoms and impulsivity, and the interaction effects of impulsivity and responsibility in relation to obsessive–compulsive symptoms. A total of 205 university and college students were asked to fill out the Padua Inventory—Washington State University Revision, the Responsibility Attitudes Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale—version 11 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A sub-sample (n = 79) also completed the Stop Signal Task (SST), a performance task that assesses behavioral inhibition (i.e., impulsivity). Obsessive–compulsive symptoms were found to be related to responsibility attitudes and self-reported attentional impulsiveness. There was no association between behavior inhibition (SST) and self-reported impulsivity or obsessive–compulsive symptoms. The interaction between responsibility attitudes and attentional impulsiveness as well as between responsibility and behavior inhibition, added to the prediction of obsessive–compulsive symptoms. These findings indicate that certain aspects of impulsivity influence obsessive–compulsive symptoms in interaction with responsibility attitudes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anholt, G., Cath, D., van Oppen, P., Eikelenboom, M., Smit, J., & van Megen, H. (2009). Do ADHD and autism symptoms predict specific OC symptom dimensions or OC symptom severity in OCD? European Psychiatry, 24, S1029.
Bannon, C. J., Gonsalvez, R. J., Croft, R. J., & Boyce, P. M. (2002). Response inhibition deficits in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Psychiatric Research, 110, 165–174.
Bohne, A., Savage, C. R., Deckersbach, T., Keuthen, N. J., & Wilhelm, S. (2008). Motor inhibition in trichotillomania and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 42, 141–150.
Burns, G. L., Koertge, S. G., Formea, G. M., & Sternberger, L. G. (1996). Revision of the Padua Inventory of obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 163–167.
Chamberlain, S. R., Fineberg, N. A., Blackwell, A. D., Robbins, T. W., & Sahakian, B. J. (2006). Motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility in obsessive compulsive disorder and trichotillomania. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1282–1284.
Coles, M. E., & Horng, B. E. (2006). A prospective test of cognitive vulnerability to obsessive compulsive disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 723–734.
Cottraux, J., & Gérard, D. (1998). Neuroimaging and neuroanatomical issues in obsessive–compulsive disorder: Toward an integrative model–perceived impulsivity. In R. P. Swinson, M. A. Antony, S. Rachman, & M. A. Richter (Eds.), Obsessive–compulsive disorder: Theory research and treatment (pp. 54–184). New York: Guilford Press.
Ettelt, S., Ruhrmann, S., Barnow, S., Buthz, F., Hochrein, A., Meyer, K., et al. (2007). Impulsiveness in obsessive–compulsive disorder: Results from a family study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 115, 41–47.
Eysenck, S. B. G., Pearson, P. R., Easting, G., & Allsopp, J. F. (1985). Age norms for impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy in adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 6, 613–619.
Geller, D. A., Biederman, J., Faraone, S. V., Cradock, K., Hagermoser, L., Zaman, N., et al. (2002). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder: Fact or artifact? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 52–58.
Hoehn-Saric, R., & Barksdale, V. C. (1983). Impulsiveness in obsessive–compulsive patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 177–182.
Hollander, E., Braun, A., & Simeon, D. (2008). Should OCD leave the anxiety disorders in DSM-V? The case for obsessive compulsive-related disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 317–329.
Jaccard, J., & Turrisi, R. (2003). Interaction effects in multiple regression (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Jónsdóttir, S. D., & Smári, J. (2000). Measuring obsessions without worry: Convergent and discriminant validity of the revised Padua inventory in an Icelandic student population. Scandinavian Journal of Behaviour Therapy, 29, 49–56.
Ladouceur, R., Rhéaume, J., & Aublet, F. (1997). Excessive responsibility in obsessional concerns: A fine-grained experimental analysis. Behaviour, Research and Therapy, 35, 423–427.
Lijiffijt, M., Bekker, E. M., Quik, E. H., Bakker, J. L., Kenemans, J. L., & Verbaten, M. N. (2004). Differences between low and high trait impulsivity are not associated with differences in inhibitory motor control. Journal of Attention Disorders, 8, 25–32.
Logan, G. D., Schachar, R., & Tannock, R. (1997). Impulsivity and inhibitory control. Psychological Science, 8, 60–64.
Magnússon, A., Axelsson, J., Karlsson, M. M., & Óskarsson, H. (2000). Lack of seasonal mood change in the Icelandic population: Results of a cross-sectional study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 234–238.
Magnússon, P., Smári, J., Sigurðardóttir, D., Baldursson, G., Sigmundsson, J., Kristjánsson, K., et al. (2006). Validity of self-report an informant rating scales of adult AD/HD symptoms in comparison with a semi structured diagnostic interview. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9, 494–503.
Oldham, J. M., Hollander, E., & Skodol, A. E. (1996). Impulsivity and compulsivity. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Pallanti, S., & Hollander, E. (2008). Obsessive–compulsive disorder spectrum as a scientific “metaphor”. CNS Spectrums, 13, 6–15.
Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt impulsiveness scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768–774.
Reynolds, B., Ortengren, A., Richards, J. B., & de Wit, H. (2006). Dimensions of impulsive behaviour: Personality and behavioural measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 305–315.
Salkovskis, P. M. (1996). Cognitive-behavioural approaches to the understanding of obsessional problems. In R. M. Rapee (Ed.), Current controversies in the anxiety disorders (pp. 103–133). New York: Guilford Press.
Salkovskis, P. M., Wroe, A. L., Gledhill, A., Morrison, N., Forrester, E., Richards, C., et al. (2000). Responsibility attitudes and interpretations are characteristic of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 347–372.
Schaaber, U., Smári, J., & Óskarsson, H. (1990). Comparison of the hospital anxiety and depression rating scale with other anxiety and depression rating scales. Nordic Psychiatry, 44, 507–512.
Smári, J., Bouranel, G., & Eiðsdóttir, S. T. (2008a). Responsibility and impulsivity and their interaction in relation to obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 39, 228–233.
Smári, J., Gylfadóttir, T., & Halldórsdóttir, G. L. (2003). Responsibility attitudes and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in a student population. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 31, 45–51.
Smári, J., & Hólmsteinsson, H. E. (2001). Intrusive thoughts, responsibility attitudes, thought-action fusion, and chronic thought suppression in relation to obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 29, 13–20.
Smári, J., Ólasson, D. Þ., Arnarsson, Þ. Ö., & Sigurðsson, J. F. (2008b). Mælitæki fyrir þunglyndi fullorðinna sem til eru í íslenskri gerð: Próffræðilegar upplýsingar og notagildi. [Icelandic translations of depression measures for adult populations: Psychometric information and usefulness]. Icelandic Journal of Psychology, 13, 7–169.
Stanford, M. S., Mathias, C. W., Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Anderson, N. E., & Patton, J. H. (2009). Fifty years of the Barratt impulsiveness scale: An update and review. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 385–395.
Summerfeldt, L. J., Hood, K., Antony, M. M., Richter, M. A., & Swinson, R. P. (2004). Impulsivity in obsessive–compulsive disorder: Comparisons with other anxiety disorders and within tic-related subgroups. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 539–553.
Taylor, S., Abramowitz, J. S., McKay, D., Calamari, J. E., Sookman, D., Kyrios, M., et al. (2006). Do dysfunctional beliefs play a role in all types of obsessive–compulsive disorder? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 85–97.
Wu, C. S., Liao, S. C., Lin, K. M., Tseng, M. C., Wu, E. C. H., & Liu, S. K. (2009). Multidimensional assessments of impulsivity in subjects with history of suicidal attempts. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 50, 315–321.
Zermatten, M., & Van der Linden, M. (2008). Impulsivity in non-clinical persons with obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1824–1830.
Zigmond, A. S., & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361–370.
Acknowledgments
We want to thank Haukur Freyr Gylfason for assistance in statistical matters.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Snorrason, Í., Smári, J. & Ólafsson, R.P. The Interaction Effect of Impulsivity and Responsibility in Relation to Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms. Cogn Ther Res 35, 79–86 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9272-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9272-8