Threats to sense of control: Triggers for acute emotional responses in obsessive-compulsive personality symptomatology.

There is tension between theories and empirical evidence linking affective instability to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and OCPD diagnostic tools emphasizing restricted affect. Contextual stressors, including unexpected routine disruption and interpersonal discord, may help reconcile this apparent contradiction. High environmental control in OCPD should, on average, correspond to reduced affect, with infrequent lapses alternatively producing acute, short-term elevations. The current study examined affective processes of OCPD in daily life using ecological momentary assessment (n = 34,915) in a combined clinical/community sample (N = 245). Preregistered hypotheses were partially supported. Endorsing any OCPD symptoms was associated with greater momentary intensity, instability, and acuteness of anxiety, as well as greater momentary instability and acuteness of hostility. Low but non-zero OCPD symptomatology was associated with lower average intensity and instability of anxiety in the context of routine disruptions. However, as OCPD symptoms increased, routine disruptions predicted stronger intensity and instability of anxiety. In contrast, individuals with more symptoms reported weaker average intensity of hostility in the context of interpersonal stressors. Our findings suggest that instability of negative affect in OCPD is emotion specific and better captured by acute sporadic changes rather than consistent consecutive deviations. Additionally, the association between OCPD symptoms and negative affect might be nonlinear, consistent with functional accounts. This work sheds light on the affective mechanisms underlying OCPD symptomatology and highlights the importance of examining constructs that are dynamic in nature beyond the average level. Specifically, when temporality is considered, theories of both restricted and heightened affectivity can operate in tandem.