Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Are Associated With Increased Delay Discounting in a Novel Hand-Washing Task

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Delay discounting measures impulsivity, the tendency to prefer smaller, sooner rewards over larger, later rewards.
• Impulsive choice may play a role in obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, but research is limited.
• Understanding this link is crucial for developing targeted therapies for OC disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between impulsivity and OC symptoms.
• To examine delay discounting in both monetary and a novel hand-washing task.
• To explore whether OC symptoms, particularly washing compulsions, are associated with heightened delay discounting.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed monetary and hand-washing delay-discounting tasks.
• The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) was used to assess OC symptoms.
• Statistical analyses examined correlations between delay discounting and OCI-R scores, comparing groups with and without washing compulsions.

Main Results:

• Steeper delay discounting in the monetary task correlated with steeper discounting in the washing task.
• Participants exhibited significantly more delay discounting in the washing task compared to the monetary task.
• Individuals with washing compulsions showed greater delay discounting on the washing task, with OCI-R Washing subscale scores marginally predicting this behavior.

Conclusions:

• Impulsivity, as measured by delay discounting, appears to be implicated in OC symptoms.
• The findings suggest that impulsive behavior can be context-dependent, particularly in relation to washing compulsions.
• Further research is needed to refine the conceptualization of the interplay between impulsivity and compulsivity in OC disorders.