Washing obsessive-compulsive symptoms as adaptation—insights from a 3-year longitudinal cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic
The reliance on the washing-like behaviors to contain the pandemic spreading explains its augmented scores in the acute phases of the pandemic and thus the continuous decrease of symptomatology with time. For anxiety, both the beginning and the end of the pandemic seem to have posed a threat, leading to an increase in worry and hypervigilance. In general, our results demonstrate the adaptative nature of humans and the instrumental role of psychological distress to cope with the world around us.
Authors
- Pedro Morgado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3880-3258)
- Catarina Raposo-Lima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0609-6766)
- Ana Daniela Costa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0281-4254)
- Maria Picó‐Pérez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1573-2445)
- Afonso Fernandes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8794-9387)
- Sónia Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3527-1623)
- Pedro Silva Moreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2800-3903)
- Mafalda Machado Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3890-0007)
- Beatriz Couto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3746-9959)
Institutions
- Universitat Jaume I (ES)
- University of Minho (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Published
- 2025-06-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542724
- Primary Topic
- Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
- European Regional Development Fund
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación