Exploring the relationship between the interpretation o instrusive thoughts and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a Mexican sample

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous psychological condition characterized by obsessions – unwanted thoughts, impulses, images or ideas and compulsions – repetitive rituals aimed at reducing emotional arousal and mitigating the perceived risk associated with the obsession. The cognitive theory proposes that how intrusions are interpreted operates as the mechanism by which passing thoughts, impulses, images or ideas become clinically significant obsessions. More specifically, misinterpreting the significance or dangerousness of intrusions activates emotional arousal and a subsequent urge to engage in a neutralizing behavior. In sum, the obsession is born out of the interpretation given to the unwanted thought, not by the thought itself. Notably, there is a scare of research related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms and interpretations of intrusive thoughts with Mexican samples, and the current study seeks to bridge that gap.