Comparison of attentional bias in people with symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (Washer, Checker), symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and normal people

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder and general anxiety suffer from attention bias. However, the lack of similar studies investigating attention bias in these groups necessiates a copmarison of attention bias between individuals with these disorders and those without.

The aim of this study was to compare attention bias among individuals exhibiting  symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder ( washers and checkers),  those with generalized anxiety disorder, and individuals without any diagnosed psychological conditions.

The methododology employed in this research is a causal-comparative (post-event) design. The statistical population of this study comprised all students enrolled at Tabriz University during the academic year 1401-1402.  To identify students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (based on Maudsley, 1997) and anxiety (following Beck, 1990) questionnaires were distributed using available methods. Subsequently, a purposive sampling technique was used to select 15 participants for each of the four groups: washers, checkers, anxious and  normal. Following the selection process, participants underwent the emotional Stroop test (Stroop, 1935), which included four categories of words: disgust, anxiety, checking and neutral words to assess attention bias. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with SPSS-20 software.

The findings revealed that participants in the washing group exhibited significantly longer reaction time to disgust words (P≤0.001) compared to the other three groups. Similarly, individuals in the checking group demonstrated prolonged reaction time to checking words compared to the other three groups (P≤0.001). Moreover, participants in the anxiety group displayed extended reaction times to the anxiety words compared to the other groups (P≤0.001).

Based on the findings indicating heightened attention bias among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (washers and checkers) and generalized anxiety disorder compared to the normal group, it is recommended to implement therapeutic interventions and cognitive rehabilitation strategies  aimed at reducing attention bias in these two groups.