Predicting the Severity of Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms Based on Traumatic Childhood Experiences: The Mediating Role of Self-criticism

OObjective: The present study aimed to predict the severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms (OCS) based on Traumatic Childhood Experiences through the mediating role of Self-criticism. Methods: The general design of the present study is the descriptive correlation of structural equations. The statistical population of this study was adults, aged 18 to 50 -who were living in Mashhad in 2021 - and had proper access to the Internet. Among them, 340 people were selected as a sample by the available method. Data were collected using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Scale (Y-BOCS-1989), the traumatic childhood experiences of Bernstein et al. (CTQ-2003), and Levels of Self-Criticism Questionnaire Thompson and Zuroff (LOCS-2004). Data analysis is performed using the structural equation modeling method using SPSS software version 26 and AMOS version 24. Results: Results showed that there is a significant correlation between childhood traumatic experiences (r = 0.51) and Self-Criticism (r = 0.57) with the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (P <0.01). Also, the results of structural equation modeling showed that the model of the present study has an acceptable fitness and the mediating role of Self-Criticism in the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (χ 2 /df ≤ 3) and significance level 0.001) was significant. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, traumatic childhood experiences are able to predict and affect the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms through interaction with Self-Criticism.