The effects of childhood emotional abuse on aggressive obsessions among patients with obsessive compulsive disorder may be mediated by symptoms of depression and anxiety

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of the OCD groups.

		OCD group without CT (n = 71)	OCD group with CT (n = 89)	P
Age (years) ± SD		29.37 ± 8.70	32.37 ± 10.49	0.610
Gender, n (%)	Female	39 (54.9)	53 (59.6)	0.670
	Male	32 (45.1)	36 (40.4)
Education status, n (%)	Primary school	8 (11.3)	17 (19.1)	0.142
	Middle school	6 (8.5)	13 (14.6)
	High school	16 (22.5)	23 (25.8)
	University	41 (57.7)	36 (40.4)
Marital status, n (%)	Single	40 (56.3)	44 (49.4)	0.175
	Married	29 (40.8)	34 (38.2)
	Divorced	2 (2.8)	10 (11.2)
	Widow	0	1 (1.1)
Occupation status, n (%)	Unemployed	48 (67.6)	60 (67.4)	1.000
	Employed	23 (32.4)	29 (28.9)
Any medical disorder, n (%)	No	60 (85.7)	72 (81.8)	0.660
	Yes	10 (14.3)	16 (18.2)
Alcohol-drug use, n (%)	No	56 (78.9)	67 (75.3)	0.729
	Yes	15 (21.1)	22 (24.7)
Cigarette use, n (%)	No	49 (69)	57 (64)	0.623
	Yes	22 (31)	32 (36)
Lifetime suicide attempt, n (%)	No	62 (87.3)	70 (78.7)	0.221
	Yes	9 (12.7)	19 (21.3)
Parental divorce, n (%)	No	66 (93)	76 (85.4)	0.210
	Yes	5 (7)	13 (14.6)
Separation from parents, n (%)	No	61 (85.9)	67 (75.3)	0.141
	Yes	10 (14.1)	22 (24.7)
Religious/ethnic difference, n (%)	No	70 (98.6)	82 (92.1)	0.134
	Yes	1 (1.4)	7 (7.9)
Childhood mobility, n (%)	No	61 (85.9)	57 (64)	0.003*
	Yes	10 (14.1)	32 (36)
Family history of psychiatric disorder, n (%)	No	46 (64.8)	57 (64)	1.000
	Yes	25 (35.2)	32 (36)

Note: Mann–Whitney U test, Chi-square test, Fischer exact Chi-square test.

Table 2. Comorbidity characteristics of the OCD groups.

		OCD group without CT (n = 71)	OCD group with CT (n = 89)	χ^2	P
Any comorbid diagnosis, n (%)	No	26 (36.6)	41 (46.1)	1.448	0.229
	Yes	45 (63.4)	48 (53.9)
Comorbid depression, n (%)	No	51 (71.8)	66 (74.2)	0.109	0.742
	Yes	20 (28.2)	23 (25.8)
Comorbid social phobia, n (%)	No	55 (77.5)	68 (76.4)	0.025	0.874
	Yes	16 (22.5)	21 (23.6)
Comorbid simple phobia, n (%)	No	58 (81.7)	76 (75.3)	0.398	0.528
	Yes	13 (18.3)	13 (14.6)
Comorbid panic disorder, n (%)	No	66 (93)	87 (97.8)	1.175	0.242
	Yes	5 (7.0)	2 (2.2)
Comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder, n (%)	No	70 (98.6)	87 (97.8)	0.372	1.000
	Yes	1 (1.4)	2 (2.2)
Other comorbid diagnosis, n (%)	No	65 (91.5)	86 (96.5)	1.082	0.187
	Yes	6 (8.5)	3 (3.5)
Number of comorbidities, n (%)	1	31 (68.9)	34 (70.8)	2.667	0.544
	2	12 (26.7)	13 (27.1)
	3	2 (4.4)	0 (0.0)
	4	0 (0.0)	1 (2.1)

Note: Chi-square test, Fischer exact chi-square test.

Table 3. Comparisons of the OCD groups according to obsessions.

Obsessions, n (%)		OCD group without CT (n = 71)	OCD group with CT (n = 89)	P
Aggressive	No	53 (74.6)	48 (53.9)	0.011*
	Yes	18 (25.4)	41 (46.1)
Contamination	No	24 (33.8)	27 (30.3)	0.767
	Yes	47 (66.2)	62 (69.7)
Sexual	No	54 (76.1)	60 (67.4)	0.306
	Yes	17 (23.9)	29 (32.6)
Hoarding	No	70 (98.6)	86 (96.6)
	Yes	1 (1.4)	3 (3.4)
Religious	No	38 (53.5)	48 (53.9)	1.000
	Yes	33 (46.5)	41 (46.1)
Ordering	No	56 (78.9)	59 (66.3)	0.114
	Yes	15 (21.1)	30 (33.7)
Other obsession	No	55 (77.5)	67 (75.3)	0.892
	Yes	16 (22.5)	22 (24.7)
Somatic	No	68 (95.8)	84 (94.4)	0.971
	Yes	3 (4.2)	5 (5.6)

Note: Chi-square test, Fischer exact chi-square test.

Figure 1. The mediator roles of depression and anxiety in the relationship of emotional abuse and aggressive obsessions.

Table 4. Comparisons of the OCD groups according to compulsions.

			OCD group without CT (n = 71)	OCD group with CT (n = 89)	P
Compulsions, n (%)	Cleaning	No	24 (33.8)	25 (28.1)	0.544
		Yes	47 (66.2)	64 (71.9)
	Checking	No	28 (39.4)	28 (31.5)	0.377
		Yes	43 (60.6)	61 (68.5)
	Repeating	No	44 (62)	52 (58.4)	0.770
		Yes	27 (38)	37 (41.6)
	Counting	No	58 (81.7)	79 (88.8)	0.298
		Yes	13 (18.3)	10 (11.2)
	Ordering	No	59 (83.1)	71 (79.8)	0.740
		Yes	12 (16.9)	18 (20.2)
	Hoarding	No	70 (98.6)	86 (96.6)
		Yes	1 (1.4)	3 (3.4)
	Other compulsion	No	56 (78.9)	71 (79.8)	1.000
		yes	15 (21.1)	18 (20.2)

Note: Chi-square test, Fischer exact chi-square test.

Table 5. Correlations of the CTQ total and subscales scores with obsessions, compulsions and total scores of the YBOCS, BDI, BAI.

	Emotional abuse (r)	Psychical abuse (r)	Sexual abuse (r)	Physical neglect (r)	Emotional neglect (r)	CTQ total score
Aggressive obsessions	−0.234**	−0.115	−0.139*	−0.039	−0.090	−.208**
Contamination obsessions	−0.018	0.152*	0.018	0.110	−0.026	−0.057
Sexual obsessions	−0.152*	−.070	−0.025	−0.013	−0.063	−0.072
Hoarding obsessions	−0.105	−0.089	−0.096	−0.026	−0.177*	−0.105
Religious obsessions	−0.065	0.142*	0.059	−0.068	0.033	0.037
Ordering obsessions	−0.053	−0.047	−0.033	0.078	−0.049	−0.123
Other obsessions	−0.055	−0.009	−0.094	−0.089	0.032	−0.021
Somatic obsessions	−0.093	0.003	0.130	−0.037	−0.138*	−0.049
Cleaning compulsions	−0.050	0.138*	0.033	0.106	−0.001	−0.058
Checking compulsions	−0.154*	−0.101	−0.050	0.118	−0.032	−0.109
Repeating compulsions	−0.098	−0.047	−0.071	0.033	0.021	−0.070
Counting compulsions	0.100	0.036	0.067	0.163*	0.013	0.085
Ordering compulsions	−0.040	−0.011	−0.026	0.128	−0.048	−0.090
Hoarding compulsions	−0.024	−0.089	−0.096	−.026	−0.177*	−0.115
Other compulsions	−0.093	−0.090	−0.034	−0.082	0.026	−0.004
YBOCS total	0.055	−0.129	0.029	−0.069	0.105	0.126
BDI total	0.386**	0.048	0.310**	−0.031	0.170*	0.322**
BAI total	0.288**	0.049	0.197*	−0.009	0.110	0.252**

Note: Spearman’s Rho Correlation.

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.

*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.

Table 6. The mediator roles of depression and anxiety in the relationship of emotional abuse and aggressive obsessions.

	M1				M2				Aggressive obsessions (Y)
		Coefficient	S.E	P		Coefficient	S.E	P		Coefficient	S.E	P
Emotional abuse (X)	a1	1.019	0.298	0.001	a2	0.193	0.347	0.579	c’	0.074	0.053	0.161
Depression (M1)		–	–	–	d21	0.656	0.080	<0.001	b1	0.024	0.020	0.216
Anxiety(M2)		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	b2	0.026	0.016	0.113
Constant	İM1	11.939	2.332	<0.001	İM2	3.852	2.483	0.123	İY	−2.113	0.521	<0.001
	R^2 = 0.097				R^2 = 0.584				−2LL = 194.532, Model LL = 14.265
	F(1,156) = 11.713, P = 0.001				F(2,155) = 40,536, P = 0.001				P = 0.158, CoxSnell = 0.086