The relationship between disgust propensity and disgust sensitivity with contamination/washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms in students

There is increasing attention for the role of disgust in psychopathology, especially contamination/washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms by Western researchers in recent decades. There has not been much attention paid to this disorder in Iran. This study aimed at determining the role of disgust propensity and disgust sensitivity in predicting contamination/washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
In this analytical descriptive study, 295 students were selected from Shahed University by the cluster sampling method. The participants completed the demographic questionnaire, Padua Inventory (PI, contamination subscale) and Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale-Revised (DPSS-R).
The results of Pearson correlation showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the disgust propensity and the disgust sensitivity with contamination/washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms and this relationship was stronger in women (0.41-0.42) than in men (0.23-0.24). The results of regression analysis showed that disgust propensity (β=0.34, P The present study provides support for the role of disgust in the prediction of contamination/washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms and it can be used for early diagnosis and timely treatment of this disorder.