Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Desire for Control, Sense of Control and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While control-related cognitions have often been implicated in discussions of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), empirical investigations of the relationship between control-constructs and OCD symptoms have been relatively limited. In this article it was hypothesized that OCD symptoms may be linked with a higher desire to control (DC), but a lower sense of control (SC) over the self and environment, leading to motivation for compulsive symptoms. This hypothesis was investigated in an analogue population, using regression analyses controlling for depression and anxiety. Consistent with predictions, it was found that higher levels of DC and lower levels of SC were associated with higher levels of OCD-related beliefs and symptoms. While control cognitions were linked with the OCD-related beliefs of perfectionism and the over-estimation of threat, they did not relate to cognitions concerning the importance of/need to control thoughts. With respect to specific OCD-symptoms, control cognitions were most strongly related to contamination obsessions/washing compulsions. Implications for theory and treatment are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

Notes

  1. Full details of suppression analyses available from the contact author.

References

  • Aitken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow, D. H. (1991). Disorders of emotion. Psychological Inquiry, 2(1), 58–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barlow, D. H., Chorpita, B. F., & Turovsky, J. (1996). Fear, panic, anxiety, and disorders of emotion. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 43, 251–328.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. S., & Logan, H. (1993). Desired control, felt control, and dental pain: Recent findings and remaining issues. Motivation and Emotion, 17, 181–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. S., Logan, H., & Hoppe, S. (1993). Emotional and sensory focus as mediators of dental pain among patients differing in desired and felt dental control. Health Psychology, 12, 381–389.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett-Levy J., Butler G., Melanie F., Hackmann A., Mueller M., Westbrook D. (Eds.). (2004). Oxford guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braith, J. A., McCullough, J. P., & Bush, J. P. (1988). Relaxation-induced anxiety in a sub-clinical sample of chronically anxious subjects. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experiment Psychiatry, 19, 193–198.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. (2001). Motivators for neutralising behaviour in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Unpublished BA(Hons) Thesis, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

  • Brown, T. A., White, K. S., Forsyth, J. P., & Barlow, D. H. (2004). The structure of perceived emotional control: Psychometric properties of a revised Anxiety Control Questionnaire. Behavior Therapy, 35, 75–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, J. M. (1984). Desire for control, locus of control, and proneness to depression. Journal of Personality, 52, 71–89.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, J. M. (1991). The effects of desire for control in situations with chance-determined outcomes: Gambling behaviour in lotto and bingo players. Journal of Research in Personality, 25, 196–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, J. M. (1992). Desire for control: Personality, social, and clinical perspectives. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger, J. M., & Cooper, H. M. (1979). The desirability of control. Motivation and Emotion, 3(4), 381–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, G. L., Keortge, S. G., Formea, G. M., & Sternberger, L. G. (1996). Revision of the Padua Inventory of obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms: Distinctions between worry, obsessions, and compulsions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34(2), 163–173.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carr, A. T. (1974). Compulsive neurosis: A review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 311–318.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, A. C. (1990). Metacognitive self-efficacy and intrusive thoughts. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

  • Clara, I. P., Cox, B. J., & Enns, M. W. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the depression-Anxiety-Stress Scales in depressed and anxious patients. Journal of Psychopathology & Behavioral Assessment., 23(1), 61–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. A. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. A., & Purdon, C. L. (1993). New perspectives for a cognitive theory of obsessions. Australian Psychologist, 28, 161–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, R. J., & Calamari, J. E. (2004). Thought-focused attention and obsessive–compulsive symptoms: An evaluation of cognitive self-consciousness in a nonclinical sample. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 457–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coles, M. E., Frost, R. O., Heimberg, R. G., & Rheaume, J. (2003). “Not just right experiences”: Perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive features and general psychopathology. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 681–700.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, T. L., Vickers, R. R., Jnr, & French, J. R. P., Jnr. (1992). An application of person-environment fit theory: Perceived versus desired control. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 95–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R. (1994). The study of congruence in organizational behavior research: Critique and a proposed alternative. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 58, 51–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R. (2001). Ten difference score myths. Organizational Research Methods, 4, 265–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, G. W., Shapiro, D. H., & Lewis, M. A. (1993). Specifying dysfunctional control mismatches between different control dimensions. British Journal of Psychology, 84, 255–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeston, M. H., & Ladouceur, R. (1997). What do patients do with their obsessive thoughts? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 335–348.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garant, V., & Alain, M. (1995). Perception de controle, desire de controle et sante psychologique. Revue Canadienne des Sciences du Comportement, 27, 251–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, N. A. (1996). Nonclinical populations in research on obsessive-compulsive disorder: A critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 16, 729–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, B. L., Lynch, G. V., & Schwab, J. J. (1998). Assessment of locus of control in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 509–515.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ladouceur, R., Freeston, M. H., Fournier, S., Rheaume, J., Dugas, M. J., Gagnon, F., et al. (2000). Strategies used with intrusive thoughts: A comparison of OCD patients with anxious and community controls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 179–187.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Law, A., Logan, H., & Baron, R. S. (1994). Desire for control, felt control, and stress inoculation training during dental treatment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(5), 926–936.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, H., Baron, R. S., Keeley, K., Law, A., & Stein, S. (1991). Desired and felt control as mediators of stress in a dental setting. Health Psychology, 10, 352–359.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335–342.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McFall, M. E., & Wollersheim, J. P. (1979). Obsessive-compulsive neurosis: A cognitive-behavioral formulation and approach to treatment. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 3, 333–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, D., Abramowitz, J. S., Calamari, J. E., Kyrios, M., Sookman, D., Radomsky, A., et al. (2004). A critical evaluation of obsessive-compulsive disorder subtypes: Symptoms versus mechanisms. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 283–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, S., & Crowe, S. F. (2003). The contribution of perceived control of stressful life events and thought suppression to the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in both non-clinical and clinical samples. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 389–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meilich, O. (2006). Bivariate models of fit in contingency theory: Critique and a polynomial regression alternative. Organizational Research Methods, 9, 161–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulding, R., & Kyrios, M. (2006). Anxiety disorders and control related beliefs: The exemplar of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 573–583.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (2003). Psychometric validation of the obsessive belief questionnaire and the interpretation of intrusions inventory: Part 2. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 863–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdon, C. (2001). Appraisal of obsessional thought recurrences: Impact on anxiety and mood state. Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 47–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdon, C., & Clark, D. A. (2002). The need to control thoughts. In R. O. Frost & G. Steketee (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to obsessions and compulsions: Theory, assessment and treatment. (pp. 29–43). Oxford: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S. (1997). A cognitive theory of obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 793–802.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S. (2004). Fear of contamination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 1227–1255.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rachman, S., & de Silva, P. (1978). Abnormal and normal obsessions. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 16, 233–248.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rapee, R. M., Craske, M. G., Brown, T. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1996). Measurement of perceived control over anxiety-related events. Behavior Therapy, 27, 279–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salkovskis, P. M. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive problems: A cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 23, 571–583.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A. (1995). Perceived control, motivation, & coping. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A. (1996). A guide to constructs of control. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 71, 549–570.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sookman, D., Pinard, G., & Beck, A. T. (2001). Vulnerability schemas in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 15, 109–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steketee, G., Grayson, J. B., & Foa, E. B. (1985). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Differences between washers and checkers. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 23(2), 197–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnik, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics, (3rd edition). New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S., Kyrios, M., Thordarson, D. S., Steketee, G., & Frost, R. O. (2002). Development and validation of instruments for measuring intrusions and beliefs in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In R. O. Frost & G. Steketee (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to obsessions and compulsions: Theory, assessment, and treatment. Oxford: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, S. C., Sobolow-Shubin, A., Galbraith, M. E., Schwankovsky, L., & Cruzen, D. (1993). Maintaining perceptions of control: Finding perceived control in low control circumstances. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 293–304.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tolin, D. F., Woods, C. M., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2003). Relationship between obsessive beliefs and obsessive symptoms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 657–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: A practice manual and conceptual guide. London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297–331.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, E. J., & Camove, A. S. (1992). Anxiety and desire for control. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 21, 71–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zebb, B. J., & Moore, M. C. (2003). Superstitiousness and perceived anxiety control as predictors of psychological distress. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 115–130.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Guy Doron and Maja Nedeljkovic for comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Richard Moulding

  2. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

    Michael Kyrios

Authors
  1. Richard Moulding
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Kyrios
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard Moulding.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Moulding, R., Kyrios, M. Desire for Control, Sense of Control and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms. Cogn Ther Res 31, 759–772 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9086-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9086-x

Keywords

Profiles

  1. Richard Moulding View author profile