Dimensionality of scrupulosity and its associations with obsessive-compulsive symptomatology in a nonclinical sample: A network approach

The first goal of the study was to investigate the internal structure of scrupulosity symptoms using network analysis in order to detect communities of symptoms and the central symptoms. The second goal was to investigate the associations between obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and scrupulosity using network analysis. The participants were 322 individuals from Poland (227 women and 95 men). The participants reported on their scrupulosity using the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity and on their OCD symptoms using the Obsessive–Compulsive Inventory—Revised. The symptoms of scrupulosity formed a single unidimensional network in 94.4% of iterations of network analysis. In network for symptoms of scrupulosity and OCD, symptoms of scrupulosity formed independent community or communities. The central symptom of the common network was obsessing. Scrupulosity were associated but separate from OCD symptoms. The most central symptoms of scrupulosity were thoughts and behaviors unacceptable for God, immoral thoughts and rules disobedience. The bridge symptom between scruples and OCD symptoms was obsessing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)