Disgust: the disease-avoidance emotion and its dysfunctions.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neurobiology
• Psychophysiology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The emotion of disgust, primarily for disease avoidance, is increasingly recognized in psychopathology.
• Evidence links disgust to specific phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence on the role of disgust in various psychopathologies.
• To explore disgust as a vulnerability factor and its mechanisms in mental health disorders.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of psychological, psychophysiological, neurobiological, and cognitive studies.
• Analysis of associations between disgust propensity/sensitivity and clinical diagnoses.

Main Results:

• Disgust is significantly related to small animal phobias, blood-injection-injury phobia, and OCD contamination fears.
• Disgust propensity and sensitivity correlate with eating disorders, sexual dysfunctions, hypochondriasis, height phobia, claustrophobia, separation anxiety, agoraphobia, and schizophrenia symptoms.
• Disgust acts as a vulnerability factor, often co-occurring with fear/anxiety in diagnosed psychopathologies.

Conclusions:

• Disgust is a significant factor in numerous psychopathologies, even those not directly related to disease avoidance.
• Disgust may exacerbate anxiety and distress through its role in shame, guilt, and threat interpretation biases.
• Understanding disgust's role is crucial for comprehending and potentially treating a range of mental health conditions.