Main and Interactive Effects of Self-Disgust and Affect Intensity in Predicting the Severity of Mental Contamination,...

Self-disgust has been linked to contact contamination (i.e., experiences of dirtiness caused by exposure to a contaminant), mental contamination (i.e., experiences of dirtiness that occur absent a contaminant), and PTSD symptoms in theoretical work. Separate lines of research have also linked higher affect intensity (i.e., the tendency to experience emotions strongly) to negative mental health outcomes, including more severe PTSD symptoms. However, empirical research examining associations between self-disgust and both contamination concerns and PTSD symptoms remains limited, and these associations may differ as a function of affect intensity.

The current study evaluated main and interactive effects of self-disgust and affect intensity as predictors of contact contamination, mental contamination, and PTSD symptoms among 217 undergraduates with mixed trauma histories. Participants completed an online survey assessing lifetime trauma history, self-disgust, affect intensity, contact and mental contamination, PTSD symptoms, and depressive symptoms.

After adjusting for sex assigned at birth and depressive symptoms, self-disgust predicted more severe contact contamination. Two unexpected interactions also revealed that self-disgust was only associated with more severe PTSD symptoms among individuals low in affect intensity and was more strongly positively associated with mental contamination among those low in affect intensity than those high in affect intensity.

Findings suggest that self-disgust may be relevant in understanding both trauma- and contamination-related concerns. Future research should explore mechanisms by which self-disgust contributes to these outcomes.