Direct and indirect assessment of perfectionism in patients with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

According to the transdiagnostic perspective, psychological disorders share common cognitive processes involved in their pathogenesis. One dysfunctional belief that has been found to be associated with several psychological disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is perfectionism. Perfectionism comprises two factors, namely, perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. This study aims to replicate and extend previous research in several ways. We aimed to assess similarities between the two disorders using Bayesian statistics. Furthermore, as dysfunctional beliefs are assumed to not be fully accessible by introspection, we included an indirect measure (perfectionism single category implicit association task; SC-IAT). The SC-IAT and a self-report measure of perfectionism (FMPS) was used in patients with MDD (n = 55), OCD (n = 55), and in healthy controls (n = 64). In replication of previous findings, patients with MDD and OCD differed from healthy controls regarding self-reported perfectionism scores. Furthermore, Bayesian statistics showed that the two patient groups did not differ regarding perfectionistic strivings and only showed differences on perfectionistic concerns, when the doubts about actions subscale-which is also closely related to symptoms of OCD-was included. Contrary to our expectations, the SC-IAT did not discriminate groups. In conclusion, these results give further evidence that self-reported perfectionism may serve as a relevant transdiagnostic process. More studies are needed to assess implicit facets of perfectionism.

Changes in the daily life experience of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: Looking beyond symptom reduction using ecological momentary assessment.

The current study examines changes in daily life experiences following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in a sample of 38 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and residual symptoms following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants were randomized to either an MBCT group (n = 17), or to a psychoeducational group (OCD-EP; n = 21) as an active control condition. Both groups underwent ecological momentary assessment (EMA) six times a day for a period of six consecutive days pre- and posttreatment. Contrary to hypotheses, MBCT participation did not, when compared to OCD-EP, result in significant changes of positive affect, negative affect, acceptance of momentary emotions, or distress associated with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. In fact, insight into the unreasonableness of OC symptoms improved significantly more in the OCD-EP group compared to MBCT. However, in the MBCT group, the presence of momentary OC symptoms at post assessment predicted increased insight, which indicates an improved ability to detach from OC symptoms in the moments in which they occur. All in all, however, results do not indicate favorable changes in everyday life experiences of OCD patients following MBCT. Owing to the modest sample size, results must be considered preliminary. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.