Individual differences in Obsessive-Compulsive behaviour: The role of the Eysenckian dimensions and appraisals of responsibility

The contribution of the Eysenckian dimensions to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is re-examined using a continuous measure designed specifically to investigate severity of discomfort from obsessions and compulsions in both normal and clinical samples. However, the major objective of the study was to examine the added variance in severity of OCD explained by Salkovskisʹ (1985, 1989a,b) cognitive appraisal variable “responsibility”, arguably a trait of psychoticism. After controlling for depression, neuroticism and responsibility were significant predictors of discomfort from obsessions and compulsions in the normal sample, while extraversion and psychoticism were not important. Moreover, the sample of 20 clinical OCDs yielded a similar pattern of correlations. The implications of these findings are discussed.