University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychiatry, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2012 Mar;43(1):632-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.09.003. Epub 2011 Sep 9.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is understudied in African Americans, thus little is known about factors that might predispose this group to obsessive-compulsive anxiety. Prior research has shown that African Americans endorse more concerns about contamination, but it is not known how these differences relate to variables, such as beliefs or cognitions about contamination, the emotion of disgust, and anxiety sensitivity. The current study examined Black-White differences in contamination cognitions in a non-clinical sample (N = 245).
European American and African American participants completed measures of contamination cognitions, anxiety, OCD, and disgust.
African Americans exhibited significantly stronger contamination cognitions, as measured by the Contamination Concerns Scale. Multiple regression analysis showed that contamination concerns were predicted by disgust sensitivity, ethnicity/race, and gender. Neither anxiety sensitivity nor pathological washing behaviors were significant factors in the model.
Study should be replicated in additional populations as generalizability beyond a college student population is not known.
African Americans are no more sensitive to disgust or anxiety than European Americans, but nonetheless have greater concerns about the severity of contamination surrounding certain items. This may predispose African Americans with OCD to symptoms involving contamination.
在非裔美国人中，强迫症（OCD）的研究较少，因此对于可能导致这一群体产生强迫性焦虑的因素知之甚少。先前的研究表明，非裔美国人更关注污染问题，但尚不清楚这些差异与哪些变量有关，如对污染的信念或认知、厌恶情绪和焦虑敏感性。本研究在非临床样本（N=245）中考察了污染认知的黑白差异。
欧洲裔美国人和非裔美国参与者完成了污染认知、焦虑、OCD 和厌恶的测量。
非裔美国人在污染关注量表上表现出更强的污染认知。多元回归分析表明，污染关注受厌恶敏感性、种族/民族和性别预测。焦虑敏感性和病理性洗涤行为都不是该模型中的重要因素。
该研究应在其他人群中进行复制，因为其在大学生群体之外的普遍性尚不清楚。
非裔美国人对厌恶或焦虑的敏感性并不高于欧洲裔美国人，但对某些物品周围污染的严重程度却有更大的担忧。这可能使 OCD 患者更容易出现与污染相关的症状。
