Background: Scrupulosity is a common yet understudied presentation of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that is characterized by obsessions and compulsions focused on religion. Despite the clinical relevance of scrupulosity to some presentations of OCD, little is known about the association between scrupulosity and symptom severity across religious groups. Aims: The present study examined the relationship between (a) religious affiliation and OCD symptoms, (b) religious affiliation and scrupulosity, and (c) scrupulosity and OCD symptoms across religious affiliations. Method: One-way ANOVAs, Pearson correlations and regression-based moderation analyses were conducted to evaluate these relationships in 180 treatment-seeking adults with OCD who completed measures of scrupulosity and OCD symptom severity. Results: Scrupulosity, but not OCD symptoms in general, differed across religious affiliations. Individuals who identified as Catholic reported the highest level of scrupulosity relative to individuals who identified as Protestant, Jewish or having no religion. Scrupulosity was associated with OCD symptom severity globally and across symptom dimensions, and the magnitude of these relationships differed by religious affiliation. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in terms of the dimensionality of scrupulosity, need for further assessment instruments, implications for assessment and intervention, and the consideration of religious identity in treatment.

This article examines the moral theory of the American Revolutionary and Founding periods by focusing on two key concepts of that doctrine: the moral laws and the moral rights of nature. In particular, the article will examine several important questions from the perspective of America’s Revolutionary generation: What are the moral laws and rights of nature? What is the difference between a law and a right of nature, and how are the laws and rights of nature related to each other? Are nature’s moral laws and rights descriptive, prescriptive, or both? What are the attributes and sanctions of nature’s laws and rights, and how are they promulgated? What is the source of nature’s laws and rights? And finally, how did America’s founding fathers use the laws and rights of nature to establish their political institutions? In order to answer these questions, the article focuses on the core text universally recognized as the symbol of America’s revolutionary mind and moral theory: the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration’s deepest philosophic meaning is herein illuminated by also examining the broader, extant literature of the period.

John Adams was unique among the Founding Fathers in that he actually read and took seriously Machiavelli's ideas. In his Defence of the Constitutions of the United States, Adams quoted extensively from Machiavelli and he openly acknowledged an intellectual debt to the Florentine statesman. Adams praised Machiavelli for having been “the first” to have “revived the ancient politics” and he insisted that the “world” was much indebted to Machiavelli for “the revival of reason in matters of government.” What could Adams have meant by these extraordinary statements? The following article examines the Machiavellian ideas and principles Adams incorporated into his political thought as well as those that he rejected. Drawing upon evidence found in an unpublished fragment, Part one argues that the political epistemology that Adams employed in the Defence can be traced to Machiavelli's new modes and orders. Part two presents Adams's critique of Machiavelli's constitutionalism.

Iatrogenic implantation of squamous epithelium may result in formation of an epidermoid cyst. These cysts have been described in various sites around the head and neck following otological procedures. A case of iatrogenic epidermal cyst in the parotid region following repeated myringoplasty is reported. The clinical features and differential diagnosis are discussed.