Disgust, shame, and guilt: Examining unique relationships with eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders (EDs) are frequently comorbid, but mechanisms shared between their comorbidity remain understudied. Interconnected moral emotions, such as disgust, shame, and guilt, show associations with these disorders, yet, no research has tested if these emotions are unique or overlapping factors contributing to symptoms of OCD, PTSD, and EDs.

METHOD: The present cross-sectional study (N = 3513) investigated the potential overlap of disgust sensitivity, state shame, and state guilt in a large sample of undergraduate students. A path analysis was utilized to examine the unique and shared associations between these emotions and OCD, PTSD, and ED symptoms.

RESULTS: The path model indicated that state shame was significantly associated with OCD, PTSD, and ED symptoms, while state guilt was associated with OCD and PTSD symptoms, but not ED symptoms. Disgust sensitivity showed no significant associations with OCD, PTSD, and ED symptoms.

CONCLUSION: Shame may be an important shared emotional correlate for symptoms of OCD, PTSD, and EDs, whereas guilt may be less impactful in relation to ED symptoms. These findings underscore a need for further research exploring the role of moral emotions in psychopathology, especially guilt and disgust, and suggest that integrated treatments focused on shame could alleviate co-occurring OCD, PTSD, and ED simultaneously.