Ambivalent self-concept and feared self mediates the relationship between negative early life experiences and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Isabella Gomez, Michaela Peck, Mathew D Marques, Maja Nedeljkovic, Jessica R Grisham, Ritika Sukhani, Shiu Fung Wong

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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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7 authors.

Isabella GomezDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Michaela PeckDepartment of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia.

Mathew D MarquesDepartment of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia.

Maja NedeljkovicDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Jessica R GrishamSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, NSW, Australia.

Ritika SukhaniSouth West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, London, UK.

Shiu Fung WongDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. kelvinwong@swin.edu.au.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The feared self, the self that a person fears they might be or become, has been increasingly shown to drive the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, there is little empirical research on how this feared self develops. Aardema and Wong's cognitive-behavioural theory of OCD proposes that negative early life experiences (e.g., childhood trauma) can disrupt healthy self-concept development, leading to an ambivalent self-concept and the feared self, and consequently OCD symptoms. We investigated these hypothesised relationships using a cross-sectional design and online self-report with non-clinical participants (N = 242). Data was analysed using path analysis which indicated multiple significant indirect effects. Self-reported experiences of authoritarian parenting and negative perceptions of pubertal timing significantly predicted greater OCD symptom severity through self-ambivalence and the corrupted feared self. These findings suggest that certain negative early life experiences could be associated with OCD symptoms through its effects on self-concepts.

Indexed as

Adverse Childhood ExperiencesFearObsessive-Compulsive DisorderSelf ConceptAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultFeared selfNegative early life experiencesObsessive-compulsive disorderSelf-ambivalence

Identifiers

PMID42177311

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-54202-y

PMCPMC13424095

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