Sociocultural Influences on Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Obsessive‐Compulsive Symptoms: The Role of Fear of Losing Out, Conformity, and Religiosity

Sociocultural factors are known to influence the phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, less is known about how these factors could be related to the underlying mechanisms of OCD. This study aimed to explore the influence of sociocultural factors, namely, conformity, religiosity, and fear of losing out on obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and their underlying cognitive processes. A total of 2364 young adults (18-29 years), comprising undergraduate students and recent graduates from a public university in Singapore, completed three online surveys over 1.5 years. Path analysis was used to model temporal relationships among OC symptoms and other variables in this longitudinal dataset, while controlling for previous levels of symptoms and their covariances, including with depressive and anxiety symptoms. The results showed that fear of losing out predicted perfection/certainty, which in turn predicted OC symptoms; however, this indirect effect was small. Conformity and religiosity did not show similar predictive associations. Our findings suggest that sociocultural factors may indirectly shape an individual's vulnerability through their attitudes and appraisals. Culturally driven norms and beliefs can reinforce maladaptive cognitive tendencies and increase one's susceptibility to OC symptoms, highlighting the importance of cultural competency practices that address the possible role of culturally driven beliefs in cognitive misappraisals.