Obsesivo Compulsivo

Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 1 (2012) 244–250

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jocrd

Mental contamination in obsessive–compulsive disorder
Anna E. Coughtrey a,n, Roz Shafran a, Debbie Knibbs b, S. Jack Rachman c
a
b
c

School of Psychology andClinical Language Sciences, Reading University, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane, Reading RG30 4EJ, UK
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

article info

abstract

Article history:
Received 8 February 2012
Received in revised form
10 July2012
Accepted 14 July 2012
Available online 22 July 2012

It was recently proposed that feelings of contamination can arise in the absence of physical contact
with a contaminant. Currently, there are limited data regarding this construct of ‘mental contamination’ although it is hypothesised to be relevant to obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) where
compulsive washing in response tocontamination fear is a common presentation (Rachman, 2006).
This research examined the presence of mental contamination in OCD. Participants (N ¼ 177) with
obsessive–compulsive symptoms completed questionnaires to assess mental contamination, OCD
symptoms and thought-action fusion (TAF). Findings indicated that 46% of participants experienced
mental contamination, and severity was associated withseverity of OCD symptoms and TAF. Mental
contamination in the absence of contact contamination was reported by 10.2% of participants. Similar
findings were reported in a sub-sample of participants who had received a formal diagnosis
of OCD (N ¼ 54). These findings suggest that mental contamination is a distinct construct that overlaps
with, but is separate from, contact contamination, and providepreliminary empirical support for the
construct.
& 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Mental contamination
Obsessive–compulsive disorder
Compulsive washing
Thought-action fusion

1. Introduction
Rachman’s (2004, 2006) theory of the fear of contamination
postulates that feelings of dirtiness and contamination can arise
following physical contact with a contaminant(contact contamination) but also in the absence of contact with a physical
pollutant (mental contamination). Mental contamination is
thought to occur in a number of forms and is associated with
emotional and/or physical violations, such as degradation,
betrayal, abuse. Mental contamination can also arise after experiencing repugnant unwanted intrusive thoughts, memories and
mental images.According to the theory, contact and mental
contamination regularly co-occur, but the relationship is asymmetric; many people with mental contamination report symptoms of contact contamination, but few people with contact
contamination present with accompanying mental contamination
(Rachman, 2006). Their co-occurrence is likely due to the fact that
mental and contact contamination share a number ofoverlapping
features, such as feelings of discomfort and dread, and the
resulting urges to wash, clean and avoid re-contamination.
Mental contamination is relevant to a number of psychological
disorders including obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD),
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and specific phobia. It is

n

Corresponding author. Tel.: þ (44) 118 378 8525; fax: þ (44) 118 378 6715.E-mail address: a.e.coughtrey@reading.ac.uk (A.E. Coughtrey).

2211-3649/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2012.07.006

conceptually related to PTSD due to its association with physical
violation, and to specific phobia due to the similarities in emotional and behavioural reactions (e.g., strong feelings of disgust)
evoked by...