Perceived choice as a mediating factor between self-awareness and obsessive-compulsive symptoms among emerging adults

Pages:30-33
Prachi Bhavesh Sanghvi and V. Premanand (St. Agnes Centre for Post-Graduate Studiesand Research, Bendoor, Mangalore)

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms generally have an onset prior to age 25. If they exist in evident degree, they are by and large, hampering. Self-awareness is associated with good clinical outcome in case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It gives a person an opportunity to choose different ways of being. People with increased self-awareness are more likely to accept themselves and the responsibilities resulting from their choices as well as actions. As result of it, past literature suggest that obsessive-compulsive symptoms reduce. In this context, it was assumed that perceived choice will mediate between self-awareness and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Therefore, the current research aimed to study the role of Perceived Choice as a mediating factor between Self-Awareness and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms among emerging adults. Two hundred and eighty seven emerging adults(M= 133, F=154) participated in this study. Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and Self-Determination Scale were used to measure the study variables and mediation analysis was done. The results revealed that Perceived Choice partially mediates between Self-Awareness and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms with statistical significance level of χ2 (0) =.000, p > .000. Implications of the study include understanding the way in which these variables influence the symptoms and incorporating them in the therapeutic procedures accordingly.