Weil Ricarda, Feist Ansgar, Moritz Steffen, Wittekind Charlotte E
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2017 Dec;57:180-188. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2017.05.007. Epub 2017 May 30.
Dual-process models suggest that automatic behavioral tendencies contribute to the development and maintenance of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) to reduce OCD symptoms and associated distress.
The study was set up as an online intervention. Participants with OCD symptoms (N = 101) were randomly assigned either to one of two experimental conditions or a waitlist control group upon completion of an online baseline survey. Participants were instructed to respond to contamination-related and neutral pictures by pulling or pushing a computer mouse, respectively. In one AAT condition, contamination-relevant pictures remained on the screen one second after pulling (lock condition), while pictures disappeared immediately after pulling in the standard AAT. Participants completed an online re-assessment four weeks after baseline.
For analyses, only data of patients with contamination-related OCD symptoms were analyzed. A significant reduction in distress caused by OCD symptoms was found for both AAT training groups. Furthermore, a reduction in compulsions occurred for the group using the standard AAT. No significant effect was found for the control group.
Implicit behavioral tendencies prior to and after training were not assessed.
Findings tentatively suggest that the AAT might be effective in reducing washing-/contamination-related OCD symptoms.
双加工模型表明，自动行为倾向有助于强迫症（OCD）症状的发展和维持。本研究的目的是探讨趋近-回避任务（AAT）减轻强迫症症状及相关痛苦的潜力。
本研究设置为在线干预。有强迫症症状的参与者（N = 101）在完成在线基线调查后，被随机分配到两个实验条件之一或一个候补对照组。参与者被指示分别通过拉动或推动电脑鼠标来对与污染相关和中性的图片做出反应。在一种AAT条件下，与污染相关的图片在拉动后在屏幕上保留一秒（锁定条件），而在标准AAT中图片在拉动后立即消失。参与者在基线四周后完成在线重新评估。
为进行分析，仅分析了有与污染相关的强迫症症状患者的数据。两个AAT训练组的强迫症症状所导致的痛苦均有显著减轻。此外，使用标准AAT的组的强迫行为有所减少。对照组未发现显著效果。
未评估训练前后的内隐行为倾向。
研究结果初步表明，AAT可能对减轻与洗涤/污染相关的强迫症症状有效。
