Investigation of the relationships between thought-action fusion, magical thinking and schizotypal personality characteristics in obsessive-compulsive disorder

In this cross sectional study; thought-action fusion, magical thinking and schizotypal personality traits were compared in obssessive compulsive patients and healthy subjects. Between October 2018 and May 2019, thirty-seven participants who applied to the Psychiatry Outpatient and Inpatient Clinics of Hacettepe University, Department of Psychiatry and diagnosed as obsessive compulsive disorder were included in this study. Thirty-six healthy subjects without any psychiatric disease were included in as the control group. Participants who are in the control group were assessed by means of a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and all the participants were required to fill out sociodemographic information form, Thought Action Fusion Scale ( TAF-S ), Vancouver Obsessive Compulsive Inventory ( VOCI ), Maudsley Obsessional Compulsive Inventory ( MOCI ), Magical Ideation Scale ( MIS ), Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ( SPQ ), Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ), Beck Anxiety Inventory ( BAI ). It was found that OCD patients has showed significantly higher values than control subjects in terms of Thought Action Fusion Scale ( TAF-S ) total score and the scores of all sub-dimensions, Magical Ideation Scale ( MIS ), and Schizotypal Personality Questionnare ( SPQ ). In the whole sample and patient group analysis, TAF-Likelihood and TAF-Moral subdimensions and the scores obtained from MIS and SPQ were significantly correlated with all subscales of the VOCI. According to the results of the analysis in the patient group, there was a positive correlation between MIS and all sub-dimensions of TAF-S, and, there was a positive correlation between SPQ and TAF-Likelihood ( TAF-L ) and TAF-Likelihood Others ( TAF-LO ) subscales. Correlation analyzes in the patient group has revealed that, there are significant positive relationships between magical thinking and VOCI-Checking, VOCI-Obsessions, VOCI-Hoarding, VOCI-Just Right and VOCI-Indecisiveness subdimensions. However no significant relationship has been found between magical thinking and VOCI-Contamination sub-dimension scores. It was found that the patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder had more cognitive biasses such as thought-action fusion and magical thinking and more schizotypal personality traits than the healthy subjects. While there was a significant relationship between magical thought and all sub-dimensions of TAF in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder, significant differences were found only between magical thought and TAF-Total score and TAF-Moral sub-dimension in the control group participants. In this study, TAF-Moral, TAF-Likelihood and TAF-Likelihood-Self sub-dimensions, magical thinking and schizotypal personality traits were found to be significantly associated with sexual, religious, aggresion obsessions, checking compulsions and hoarding obsessions and compulsions.