Symposia
Adult Anxiety
Gabriella T. Ponzini, M.S.
PhD Candidate
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
Shari A. Steinman, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
West Virginia University
n/a, West Virginia
Public stigma has detrimental impacts on those with OCD. Yet, OCD-specific stereotypes are poorly understood. Given the heterogeneity in OCD symptom presentations, a conceptualization of stereotypes associated with OCD symptoms subtypes is warranted to direct future assessment and stigma reduction interventions.
Study 1 (N = 60) was an Internet-delivered qualitative survey. Participants read one of five vignettes on OCD subtypes prior to responding to open-ended questions. Qualitative description guided by the post-positivist framework informed inductive content analyses. OCD-related stereotypes were derived from participant responses, which were then validated by a subset (n = 23) of participants. The results of Study 1 informed the development and use of quantitative assessments in Study 2. Participants in Study 2 (N = 698) completed an Internet-delivered quantitative survey in which they were randomized to read one of seven vignettes (OCD subtypes, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia) prior to completing assessments of severe mental illness stigma (e.g., perceptions of dangerousness), anxiety-relevant stigma (e.g., perceptions of weakness), and an OCD stigma measure developed from Study 1 findings.
In Study 1, a total of fifteen themes and two sub-themes emerged across subtypes. The Symmetry/Just Right, Contamination, and Scrupulous vignettes were trivialized (e.g., “worry wart”), while Harm/Aggression and Sexual vignettes were associated with perceptions of dangerousness. Participants viewed all subtypes as problematic and requiring treatment. Unique themes also emerged, such as perceptions of social isolation for Harm/Aggression and Scrupulous and incompetence for Contamination and Scrupulous vignettes. Preliminary results from Study 2 further suggest the stigmatization of OCD subtypes compared to schizophrenia and GAD. Results demonstrate greater stigmatization of Harm/Aggression and Sexual OCD for severe mental illness stereotypes, and Contamination and Scrupulous OCD for anxiety-relevant stereotypes.
Together, the results from Studies 1 and 2 suggest that OCD stigma should be evaluated and targeted along a continuum. That is, OCD symptom subtypes are associated with a range of stereotypes that vary in their intensity of endorsement depending on the symptoms presented. Findings will be discussed in relation to this mixed-methods study design, and the ways in which this methodology can further inform our understanding of stigma as a barrier to treatment.