The association between stressful experiences and OCD symptoms in young adults at transdiagnostic risk

Background: It is unclear whether there is a specific association between stressful experiences and obsessive-compulsive symptoms or whether this relationship is due to stressful experiences increasing risk for psychopathology generally. Aims: The current study examined the association between stressful experiences and obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions, while adjusting for coexisting psychiatric symptoms and psychological distress in a young adult transdiagnostic at-risk sample. Methods: Forty-three participants completed self-report measures assessing obsessive-compulsive symptoms, stressful experiences, and a range of other psychiatric symptoms. Regression models examined the relationship between stressful experiences and different obsessive-compulsive symptoms dimensions (i.e., symmetry, fear of harm, contamination, and unacceptable thoughts), adjusting for the influence of coexisting psychiatric symptoms and psychological distress. Results: The results showed that there was an association between stressful experiences and obsessive-compulsive symptoms dimension of symmetry. Symptoms of borderline personality disorder were positively associated with the obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions of symmetry and fear of harm symptoms. Symptoms of psychosis were found to be negatively associated with the obsessive-compulsive symptoms dimension of fear of harm. Conclusions: These findings have implications for understanding the psychological mechanisms that underlie symmetry symptoms and highlight the need to study OCS dimensions separately to inform more precise, mechanism-targeted interventions.