The Relevance of Mindfulness and Thought Suppression to Scrupulosity

The purpose of this study was to examine the relevance of the mindfulness and thought suppression to scrupulosity, or religious obsessions. It was hypothesized that scrupulosity would be negatively associated trait mindfulness and positively associated with thought suppression. It was also hypothesized that thought suppression and mindfulness would mediate the association between scrupulosity and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A survey-based study was conducted to test these hypotheses in a large, nonreferred sample. In particular, undergraduate university students completed a number of self-report measures, including the Pennsylvania Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire- Short Form (FFMQ-SF), and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) in exchange for extra credit. As anticipated, mindfulness was significantly associated with scrupulosity, with a particularly strong and negative association found between the PIOS and the nonjudging subscale of the FFMQ-SF. Further, thought suppression was found to be significantly and positively associated scores on the PIOS, with correlations in the moderate to strong range. Further, as anticipated, mindfulness and thought suppression mediated the relation between scrupulosity and thought suppression. Overall, the findings provide insight into the cognitive processes related to persistent and disruptive levels of scrupulosity.