1 - (IOP 11) Cultural Variability in Predictors of Mental Contamination: A Comparison of Turkish and American Samples

Contamination fears, a core feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), involve persistent concerns about infection or pollution. The concept of contamination has expanded to include mental contamination (MC), where feelings of dirtiness arise from internal stimuli (e.g., morally conflicting thoughts) rather than external contaminants. While cognitive models of contamination fear may apply to MC, its unique features, such as moral elements, diffuse dirtiness, and less relief after washing, warrant further study. Cross-cultural variability in cognitive factors remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine cognitive factors (i.e., obsessive beliefs, inferential confusion, fear of self, and scrupulosity) in MC among U.S. and Turkish students to identify shared and distinct processes, contributing to cross-cultural understanding.

A total of 397 U.S. undergraduates from a southeastern university and 461 Turkish undergraduates from various universities completed a set of self-report questionnaires, including the Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Scale–Mental Contamination (VOCI-MC), Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS), Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), Fear of Self Questionnaire (FOSQ), Inferential Confusion Questionnaire–Expanded Version (ICQ-EV), Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire–20 (OBQ-20), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21). Stepwise regression analysis identified the most influential predictors of mental contamination in both samples. In the U.S. sample, five predictors explained 47.9% of variance in VOCI-MC. ICQ-EV was entered in the first step, followed by the DOCS Contamination subscale in the second step, and the PIOS Fear of God subscale in the third step. The final model included the ICQ-EV (β = .19, p < .05), DOCS Contamination subscale (β = .29, p < .001), FOSQ (β = .18, p < .01), PIOS Fear of God subscale (β = .20, p < .001), and DASS-21 total score (β = .15, p < .001). In the Turkish sample, five predictors explained 38.6% of variance. FSQ was entered first, followed by the DOCS Contamination subscale in the second step, the DASS-21 total score in the third step, and PIOS Fear of sin in the fourth step. The final model included the FOSQ (β = .16, p < .01), DOCS Contamination subscale (β = .26, p < .001), DASS-21 total score (β = .24, p < .001), PIOS Fear of Sin subscale (β = .12, p < .01), and OBQ-20 Threat Estimation subscale (β = .09, p < .05).

Results showed consistent predictors across cultures, with contact contamination, fear of self, and distress significant in both samples. Cultural differences emerged: inferential confusion and fear of God were significant in the U.S., while fear of sin and threat-related beliefs were key in Turkey. Fear of self was the strongest predictor in Turkey, whereas inferential confusion played a greater role in the U.S. These differences may reflect underlying doctrinal and cultural distinctions between U.S. (predominantly Christian) and Turkish samples (predominantly Muslim). The predominantly White female undergraduate sample limits generalizability, and the cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences.