Associations Between Maladaptive and Normal-Range Personality Traits and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Features

Personality provides a general structure for variation in psychopathology, but several issues involving associations between personality traits and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remain poorly understood. These issues include differences in associations across normal-range and maladaptive traits, differences across OCD features, and possible non-linear associations. In this study, we estimated linear and non-linear associations between personality traits and OCD features in 350 Iranian adults aged 18-70 (mean 32.2 ± 9.6). Participants completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form (PID-5-BF), the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), and the Obsessional Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ). Findings strongly supported associations between personality traits and all OCD features. OCD beliefs were more strongly related to personality than OCD symptoms, and associations were stronger for maladaptive than normal range traits. Associations were predominately linear, although in some cases the opposite tails of normal-range and maladaptive traits were related to OCD features (e.g., Conscientiousness and Disinhibition). Overall, these findings support the importance of personality for understanding obsessive-compulsive psychopathology.