(PS7-B44) An Investigation of Stigma of Taboo Intrusive Thoughts in the Postpartum Period

Intrusive thoughts in OCD are distressing to those who have them, and research shows violent and sexual intrusive thoughts carry considerable stigma. Despite growing research in this field, there has been no established vignette research on the stigma of these thoughts during the postpartum period. This study aims to investigate whether taboo intrusive thoughts are especially negatively appraised when experienced by mothers during the postpartum period when compared to later periods of parenthood.  Study participants (N = 78), all female, were randomly assigned to read two of eight vignettes, which describe mothers and non-mothers (as a comparison condition) experiencing pedophilic or violent thoughts directed at infants or older children. Participants completed two measures that assessed their attitudes toward the women in the assigned vignettes – a measure of stigma, the Social Distance Scale, and the Perceived Dangerousness Scale. It was expected mothers (relative to non-mothers) of infants (relative to older children) would be the most poorly evaluated.  To test the hypotheses of the study, two 2 (Parent Status: Mother or Non-Parent) x 2 (Age of Child: Infant or Older Child) x 2 (Type of Thought: Homicidal or Pedophilic) Mixed Model ANOVAs was conducted with type of thought as a within-subjects variable and parent status and age of child as between-subject variables, once for social distance and once for perceived dangerousness. For social distance, a between group effect emerged for Parent Status x Age of Child.  When the target was described as a mother there was a significant difference in the social distance desired based on the age of the child in the vignette, F (1, 39) = 5.11, p = .029, η² = .12.  Social distance from the mother was higher for mothers of infants (M = 12.93, SE = .77, 95% CI = 11.37-14.40) than from mothers of children (M = 10.52, SE = .74, 95% CI = 9.03-12.01). For perceived dangerousness, a main effect emerged for type of thought, F (1,73)=5.54, p=.02, η2=.07. Participants perceived targets with pedophilia thoughts (M = 25.61, SE = .68, 95% CI = 24.26-26.97) to be more dangerous than targets with violent thoughts (M = 25.03, SE = .66, 95% CI = 23.71-26.35).  A significant 3 way interaction emerged, F(1,73)=4.88, p=.03, η2=.06.  For the violent thoughts, when the target was described as a mother, there was a significant difference in the perceived dangerousness based on the age of the child in the vignette, F(1,39)=4.61, p=.04, η2=.11, such that mothers of infants were perceived more dangerous than mothers of older children.  For the pedophilic thoughts, no significant effects emerged.  Findings will be discussed in terms of cognitive models of OCD and research related to stigma of OCD.