The Relationship of Rumination, Worry and OCD Symptoms During Technology Supported Mindfulness Therapy for OCD.

Re-analyzing data from a randomized trial of an 8-week technology-supported mindfulness (TSM) treatment for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), reductions in rumination and worry were greater in the TSM group than in a waitlist control. Statistical models showed that decreased worry predicted later OCD symptom improvement, while rumination did not show this predictive relationship. The findings suggest that worry reduction may be a mechanism through which mindfulness-based treatment alleviates OCD symptoms.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In this study, we re-examined data from a previous randomized controlled trial investigating 'technology supported mindfulness' (TSM)-an 8-week treatment intervention for individuals experiencing OCD. The current analysis involves an examination of the longitudinal relationships between rumination, worry and OCD symptom changes during mindfulness treatment, in comparison to a waitlist control. Participants experiencing OCD (n = 71) were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of (1) TSM or (2) waitlist control. We tested the extent to which rumination (using the Ruminative Response Scale) and worry (using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire) are associated with OCD symptom changes during the acute phase of treatment, concurrently (i.e., within the same longitudinal model). Generalized linear model (GLM) results indicated a significant time (week 1 vs. week 8) by condition interaction involving decreased rumination in the TSM condition: F(1, 61) = 13.37, p = 0.001, partial η2 = 0.18 and observed power = 0.94. A second GLM demonstrated decreased worry in the TSM condition: F(1, 69) = 37.34, p = 0.001, partial η2 = 0.35 and observed power = 0.83. Longitudinal 'latent difference' structural equation analyses demonstrated a cross-lagged association between worry (but not rumination) and OCD symptom changes. Individuals in the TSM condition experienced greater reductions in rumination and worry during 8 weeks of TSM treatment compared to the waitlist control, and reduced worry predicted subsequent OCD symptom reduction.