Anxiety sensitivity and obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions: Further evidence of specific relationships in a clinical sample

The relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been widely rec- ognized. The specific relationships between AS dimensions and OCD symptom dimensions are less often investi- gated and the existing studies have shown several limitations and have reported inconsistent results. The present study analyzed the role of AS dimensions in OCD, focusing on different types of OCD symptoms. Dimensional self- report measures of AS and OCD were administered to a clinical sample (86 OCD patients), together with mea- sures of depression, anxiety, and obsessive beliefs. At a bivariate level, the symmetry dimension of OCD was strongly correlated with the social dimension of AS and moderately with the physical and cognitive dimensions. The other OCD and AS dimensions were weakly correlated or uncorrelated. Hierarchical regression analyses re- vealed that the symmetry dimension was mainly predicted by the social AS dimension and, to a lesser extent, by obsessive beliefs, while the responsibility for harm and mistakes dimension was predicted by obsessive beliefs, but not by the AS dimensions. Unexpectedly, the unacceptable thoughts and contamination OCD symptom di- mensions were not predicted by any of the considered variables. Theoretical and clinical implications for the re- sults pertaining to symmetry-related OCD symptoms are discussed.