Does religiosity ameliorate the negative impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder on self-esteem?

Abstract

A core issue in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fear of losing control. Religion may help individuals with OCD to maintain their self-esteem despite the challenge of coping with the unpredictability of life. Data of N = 200 OCD outpatients were assessed via questionnaires at five government hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. As predicted, high OCD significantly correlated with low self-esteem (r = −.20), and high religiosity was associated with high self-esteem (r = .18). Against the hypothesis, mediation analyses did not reveal an indirect effect of OCD on self-esteem via religiosity (b = −.02, p > .01), and OCD was associated with lowered religiosity (r = −.20). Sample characteristics indicate that most study-participants suffered from very low financial and social support. This struggle may have eroded confidence in the power of religion, which may undermine its potentially healing effects and therefore contribute to OCD and the associated issue of low self-esteem.

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