Disgust sensitivity and psychopathological symptoms in non-clinical children

There is clear evidence in the adult literature that disgust sensitivity is implicated in various psychopathological syndromes. The current study examined the link between disgust sensitivity and psychopathological symptoms in youths. In a sample of non-clinical children aged 9-13 years, disgust sensitivity was assessed by two self-report questionnaires (i.e., the Disgust Scale and the Disgust Sensitivity Questionnaire) and a behavioural test. Furthermore, children completed scales for measuring the personality trait of neuroticism and various types of psychopathological symptoms. Results showed that disgust measures had sufficient to good convergent validity. Further, significant positive correlations were found between disgust sensitivity and symptoms of specific phobias (i.e., spider phobia, blood-injection phobia, small-animal phobia), social phobia, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and eating problems, and these links were not attenuated when controlling for neuroticism. The possible role of disgust sensitivity in the aetiology of child psychopathology is discussed.