Relationships Between Conscientiousness and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: Evidence from a Bi-Factor Model

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Conscientiousness, a major personality trait, exhibits both beneficial and detrimental aspects.
• The specific facets contributing to these dual roles, particularly concerning obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, require further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the nuanced relationships between specific facets of conscientiousness and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms.
• To explore how domain-level conscientiousness and its facets differentially associate with OC symptoms in distinct populations.

Main Methods:

• Employed a bi-factor model to analyze data from two samples: 388 college students and 381 general population individuals.
• Examined correlations between conscientiousness facets (competence, dutifulness, achievement-striving, orderliness, cautiousness) and OC symptoms.

Main Results:

• Competence and dutifulness facets negatively correlated with OC symptoms across both samples (r range: -.61 to -.19).
• Achievement-striving and orderliness facets positively correlated with OC symptoms (r range: .18 to .30).
• Domain-level conscientiousness showed contrasting associations: negative in college students, positive in the general population; cautiousness positively associated with OC symptoms in the general population.

Conclusions:

• Specific facets of conscientiousness have differential associations with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, underscoring the complexity of this personality trait.
• Findings suggest that interventions for OC symptoms could benefit from considering individual conscientiousness facet profiles.