The role of gender, fear of self and disgust propensity in mental contamination: A model test using mental contamination induction

Mental contamination (MC) is an internal feeling of dirtiness without having any direct contact with a contaminated object/person. Evoking feelings of pollution and a strong urge to wash, MC is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The study examined the associations between individual vulnerability factors such as gender, disgust propensity (DP), fear of self (FOS), and MC using a self-report study (Study 1) and a laboratory induction study (Study 2). In the first study (Study 1), 312 undergraduate students were asked to complete a set of questionnaires to assess their FOS, DP, MC, and fear of contact contamination. In the second study (Study 2), after completing the same questionnaires, 65 female and 46 male undergraduate students listened to a scenario describing a non-consensual kiss and completed the MC report. The results of Study 1 and Study 2 indicated that mental contamination mediated the association between gender, FOS and DP, and contact contamination. The female participants reported higher degrees of mental contamination than the male participants. The model testing indicated that the indirect effects of FOS and DP on the urge to wash, which was mediated by Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Mental Contamination Scale (VOCI-MC) scores, feelings of MC, and negative emotions were statistically significant. The study underlines the importance of gender, FOS, and DP in MC-related factors. Feelings of MC induced by non-consensual kiss scenarios mediated the relationship between individual vulnerability factors and fear of contamination.