Stigma and disclosure of intrusive thoughts about sexual themes

• Sexual obsessions are hypothesized to be more stigmatizing.
• Disclosure of intrusive thoughts with sexual themes is associated with rejection.
• Disclosure by a friend is more disapproved of than disclosure by a spouse.

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is often described as one of the most chronic and severe anxiety disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Those with OCD typically experience both obsessions and compulsions most often revolving around one of the several themes in content. The most commonly reported themes for obsessions include: contamination, symmetry and doubting, and harming, religious, or sexual obsessions. Little is known about perceived stigma associated with various symptom presentations although sexual obsessions have been hypothesized to be less frequently disclosed due to embarrassment (Simonds & Thorpe, 2003), which could lead to delay or avoidance of treatment. Adult participants (n=157) rated their perceptions of a hypothetical (1) friend or (2) significant other who had disclosed either (1) a sexually intrusive thought or (2) a contamination related intrusive thought to them. Results indicated that disclosure of an intrusive thought about a sexual theme is associated with more social rejection than disclosure of a contamination related intrusive thought. Additionally, disclosure of an intrusive thought by a friend is likely to meet with more disapproval than disclosure by a significant other.