Professional and student understanding of harm obsessive–compulsive disorder: A vignette study

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by obsessions and compulsions that differ significantly across patients. Lesser known, harm-related obsessions (i.e., fears of harming others or oneself; harm OCD) can present in varying ways and are often misidentified—even by professionals—compared to more “prototypical” contamination obsessions. The present study surveyed a sample of professionals (registered psychologists, general practitioners; n = 73), doctoral psychology students ( n = 92), and medical students ( n = 143), gathering diagnostic impressions and risk judgements for one of several harm OCD vignettes (i.e., fears of harming one’s infant, of smothering one’s partner, of blurting an insult, or of completing suicide) as well as a contamination OCD vignette. Harm OCD (76%) was significantly less likely to be identified than contamination OCD (97%) through open-ended identification. Further, professionals and doctoral psychology students were significantly better able to identify harm OCD than MD students, and characters with harm OCD were perceived as more likely to harm others compared to those with contamination OCD. The current findings support the need for accurate media representation of the varying OCD presentations, as well as improvement in OCD medical education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)