Specificity of Disgust Sensitivity in the Prediction of Behavioral Avoidance in Contamination Fear

This study examined the specificity of disgust sensitivity in predicting contamination-related anxiety and behavioral avoidance. Participants high (n=26) and low (n=30) in contamination fear completed self-report measures of disgust sensitivity, contamination cognitions (overestimation of the likelihood and severity of contamination from everyday objects), anxiety, and depression. They then completed three randomly presented contamination-based behavioral avoidance tasks (BATs) that consisted of exposure to a used comb, a cookie on the floor, and a bedpan filled with toilet water. Results indicated that disgust sensitivity was significantly associated with anxious and avoidant responding to the contamination-related BATs. This association remained largely intact after controlling for gender, contamination fear group membership, anxiety, and depression. Contamination cognitions were also significantly related to BAT responses. However, this relationship was fully mediated by disgust sensitivity. These findings indicate that disgust sensitivity has a specific and robust association with contamination concerns commonly observed in obsessive compulsive disorder. The findings are discussed in the context of a disease-avoidance model.