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Examining depression symptoms within OCD: the role of experiential avoidance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2021

Morgan E. Browning Open the ORCID record for Morgan E. Browning [Opens in a new window] ,
Nathaniel P. Van Kirk Open the ORCID record for Nathaniel P. Van Kirk [Opens in a new window]  and
Jason W. Krompinger
Morgan E. Browning
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA
Nathaniel P. Van Kirk*
Affiliation:
McLean Hospital OCD Institute, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop #207, Belmont, MA 02478, USA Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jason W. Krompinger
Affiliation:
McLean Hospital OCD Institute, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop #207, Belmont, MA 02478, USA Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nvankirk@partners.org
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Abstract

Background:

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression commonly co-occur. Past research has evaluated underlying mechanisms of depression in the context of other diagnoses, but few to no studies have done this within OCD.

Aims:

This study examines the relationships between distress tolerance (DT), experiential avoidance (EA), depression, and OCD symptom severity across intensive/residential treatment (IRT) for OCD. It was hypothesized that all variables would be significantly moderately related and EA would emerge as a potential contributing factor to change in depression and OCD symptoms across IRT for OCD.

Method:

The sample included 311 participants with a primary diagnosis of OCD seeking IRT. Correlations were performed between all variables at both admission and discharge. A two-step hierarchical regression with change in OCD symptoms and change in DT in the first block and change in EA in the second block examined if change in EA explained change in depression above and beyond change in OCD and DT ability.

Results:

At both admission and discharge, higher EA, lower DT, and higher OCD symptom severity were significantly associated with more depressive symptoms. Change in EA explained a significant amount of variance in change in depression above and beyond change in OCD symptom severity and change in DT.

Conclusions:

This study expands past results within an OCD sample, emphasizing EA as an important treatment target in OCD. Future studies could utilize samples from other treatment contexts, use a measure of EA specific to OCD, and utilize a longitudinal model that takes temporal precedence into account.

Keywords

depressionexperiential avoidanceobsessive compulsive disorder
Type
Main
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , July 2022 , pp. 367 - 380
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

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