The mediating role of anxiety and depression in the relationship between childhood abuse and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the mediating role of anxiety and depression in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The research method was descriptive and of the correlation type (structural equation modeling). From among the general population of social media users in 2022, 350 people were selected according to the entry criteria by voluntary sampling method. The tools used in this research included the Revised scale of obsessive–compulsive Syndrome (Foa and et al), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein & Stein), Beck Anxiety Inventory & Beck Depression Inventory-II. Pearson's correlation test and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The results showed that childhood abuse has a direct and significant relationship with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and anxiety and depression play a mediating role in the relationship between childhood abuse and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and overall, the results show that the model fits well. According to the obtained results, it can be said that childhood trauma, anxiety and depression play an important role in the formation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. In general, it can be concluded that childhood trauma can cause obsessive-compulsive symptoms by affecting anxiety and depression.