Mediating role of Emotion Dysregulation, Experiential Avoidance, and Rumination in the Relationship of Emotional Schemas with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptoms

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms differ in severity, but are the same in nature. Due to the high prevalence of OCD symptoms, their ethological study is important. Given that no study has been conducted on finding the factors involved in development and continuation of these symptoms, this study aims to examine the mediating role of emotion dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and rumination in the relationship of emotional schemas with OCD symptoms.

This is a descriptive-correlational study. Participants were 349 college students in Tehran, Iran in the academic year of 2021-2022, who were selected by a convenience sampling method. Data analysis including structural education modeling (SEM) were conducted in SPSS software, verion 22 and LISREL v. 8.8 applications.

The SEM model had a good fit (GFI=0.91, RMSEA=0.57). The three variables of emotion dysregulation, rumination, and experiential avoidance had a significant role in mediating the relationship between emotional schemas and OCD symptoms (P<0.05).

The interventions focusing on increasing acceptance of private experiences, reducing emotional dysregulation and rumination, and modifying emotional schemas can have better therapeutic outcomes for people with OCD.