Associations among fear of self, family acceptance, and scrupulosity symptoms in the LGBTQ+ community

Abstract

Extant research suggests that LGBTQ+ individuals may be especially susceptible to experiencing obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms within the unacceptable thoughts symptom dimension. The current study sought to replicate and extend these findings by examining whether LGBTQ+ individuals report greater unacceptable thoughts and scrupulosity symptoms (religious- and/or moral-based symptoms) than do non-LGBTQ+ individuals. To further understand these experiences among LGBTQ+ individuals, we also examined the relations among OC symptoms and factors we hypothesized to be uniquely relevant: religiosity, fear of self, and family acceptance of LGBTQ+ identity. MTurk participants completed a battery of questionnaires. Results indicated that LGBTQ+ participants reported significantly higher scrupulosity and unacceptable thoughts symptoms than did non-LGBTQ+ participants. Notably, LGBTQ+ participants also reported significantly higher scores on other OC symptom dimensions than did non-LGBTQ+ participants. LGBTQ+ identity was significantly related to scrupulosity symptoms when controlling for religiosity and fear of self. In the LGBTQ+ sample, family acceptance of LGBTQ+ identity moderated an association between religiosity and scrupulosity symptoms. These results suggest that identity, family acceptance, and religiosity are meaningfully associated with OC symptoms in LGBTQ+ individuals. This line of research remains relatively nascent but should be a focus of efforts to better understand and eventually mitigate OC symptoms in the LGBTQ+ community.