Mediating Role of Rumination and Negative Affect in the Effect of Mind-Wandering on Symptoms in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

To explore the relationship between negative affect, mind-wandering, rumination and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, 100 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 100 healthy controls were assessed using the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Mind Wandering Scale and the Ruminative Response Scale. The results show that (i) patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder displayed higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms, negative affect, mind-wandering and rumination compared with healthy controls; (ii) negative affect, mind-wandering and rumination were positively correlated with the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; (iii) mind-wandering predicted the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (both directly and indirectly); (iv) rumination and negative affect mediated the relationship between mind-wandering and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The results preliminarily reveal the relationship between mind-wandering and psychopathological obsessive-compulsive symptoms, providing a reference for exploring novel psychological treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder.