Symposia
Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders
Laura J. Dixon, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Mississippi
University, Mississippi
Mary Schadegg, MA
Graduate Student
University of Mississippi
University, Mississippi
Heather Clark, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Mississippi
University, Mississippi
Megan Perry, MA
Graduate Student
University of Mississippi
University, Mississippi
Carey J. Sevier, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Lynn Hana, B.S.
Graduate Student
University of Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
Background: Although there has been greater recognition of misophonia in the scientific literature, clinical settings, and popular media, the extent of awareness of misophonia in the general public is unknown. Extensive research has shown the importance of public awareness in increasing recognition and treatment of mental disorders and medical conditions. For instance, lack of knowledge impedes personal support for affected individuals (Singh et al., 2019), delays help-seeking behaviors (Wang et al., 2019), and contributes to stigma (Angermeyer & Dietrich, 2006); whereas, personal connections (Buizza et al., 2017) and familiarity with mental disorders (Robinson & Henderson, 2019) are associated with greater mental health acceptance. Awareness of misophonia is important for the continued advancement of misophonia research and identification of individuals with misophonia. As an important first step, this study investigated awareness and knowledge of misophonia in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.
Method: Data were collected through Ipsos KnowledgePanel, which maintains a large, probability-based web panel designed to be representative of the United States. Panel members were invited to complete a brief survey.
Results: The final sample included 4,005 participants (51.5% female). A small portion of individuals (11.3%) recognized the term misophonia and 16.6% reported personal contact with someone with misophonia. A multivariate binary logistic regression model revealed that individuals who were female, younger, White/non-Hispanic, had a Bachelor’s degree or higher, or reported an annual income between $75,000 - $99,000 were significantly more likely to endorse misophonia recognition. Of those who recognized the term misophonia (n = 451), 83.6% indicated that the consensus definition (Swedo et al., 2022) matched their understanding of misophonia, and most participants reported they were “slightly” (45.3%) or “somewhat” (28.3%) knowledgeable about misophonia. The most common primary source of information was general internet websites (e.g., Wikipedia).
Discussion: Most participants who were familiar with misophonia reported an accurate understanding of misophonia. Findings highlight the low level of misophonia awareness among laypersons and emphasize the need to increase public knowledge of misophonia. Specifically, researchers and clinicians play a key role in translating scientific information to the public through community engagement and dissemination activities.