Rosmarin et al 2010 Flashcards
my study for
socio-cultural explanation of OCD, specifically the role of religiosity with regard to scrupulosity
definitions
scrupulosity
Scrupulosity
intrusive thoughts and imagery leading to obsessive fears of punishment (going to hell).
Cumpulsions involve prayer, excessive confession and reassurance-seeking from religious authorities, and avoidance of situations that might lead to sinful behavior.
Usually resistant to treatment which is usually used in non-religious OCD- such behaviors may be normalized in the community and not seen as a cause for concern (makes people less likely to seek help from secular mental health practitioners and fail to engage fully with therapy)
aim
Examine whether Orthodox Jewish people recognize scrupulosity as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (hypothesis= since Orthodox Jews value more rigid adherence to the religious texts and rituals than non-Orthodox Jews, they may be less willing to label scrupulosity as a type of OCD or seek help outside of the religious community)
sample and experimental design
Method
experiment using a independent samples design
Sample
70 Orthodox and 23 non-Orthodox Jews were randomly allocated to one of two conditions
procedure
Read a vignette describing a 19-year-old man with moderate to severe symptoms of a religious nature - relating to prayer and rituals (Experimental condition)
read about a similar character who was obsessed with safety and engaged in compulsive checking (Control group)
IV was whether the OCD symptoms were religious or not
DV was the patients thoughts about how likely it was that the person in the vignette had OCD and if they showed the behaviors shown by the person in the vignette, the likelihood of seeking professional help from a therapist rather than a religious leader
The participants religiosity was also measured by a questionnaire about the frequency of prayer and synagogue attendance
results
Orthodox Jews were equally likely to recognise both the non-religious and religious vignettes as OCD (82% and 84%)
Orthodox Jews were also equally likely to recommend professional treatment for both scrupulosity and non-religious OCD
As Orthodox Jews are more familiar with the expectations for religious observance, they may be more likely to recognize abnormal or excessive behavior than non-Orthodox Jews
Non-Orthodox Jews were less likely to recognise the religious vignette as symptomatic of OCD than the non-religious vignette, (44% versus 100%)
non-Orthodox Jews were less likely to recommend professional treatment for scrupulosity compared to non-religious OCD
Another possible explanation is that non-Orthodox Jews are more concerned about insulting deeply religious people by labeling their behavior abnormal
evaluation
Internal Validity-
Relatively strong as the researchers analised the makeup of the two groups and found no differences in terms of gender, college education, or age (only difference was in the degree of religiosity as expected according to their self-identification as Orthodox or non-Orthodox).
To assure the validity of the vignettes, researchers asked three Orthodox and three non-Orthodox OCD researchers to check them; all agreed that the two characters both met the criteria for OCD, and each case was equally severe.
Researchers also checked with three Orthodox rabbis who agreed that the behaviour described in the scrupulosity vignette was excessive and not in line with Orthodox Jewish standards
