Disgust, Contagion Beliefs, and Contamination-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Hospital and Non-Hospital Workers
- 1Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknechtstraße 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
- 2Department for Infection Control and Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- 3Institute for Infection Control and Infection Prevention, Health Care Association District of Constance, 78224 Singen, Germany
Abstract
Background: Recent research highlights the role of disgust in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), particularly contamination-related OCD (C-OCD). Beyond elevated trait disgust, individuals with C-OCD often endorse strong beliefs about the spread of contamination through contact (contagion beliefs). Hospital workers (HWs) operate in environments where contamination is part of daily life and must manage genuine infection risks and their own disgust responses. Methods: To examine whether hospital work and medical training may confer resilience relevant to C-OCD, disgust and contagion beliefs (confirmatory outcomes), as well as OCD symptoms and situation-specific contamination concerns (exploratory outcomes), were assessed using self-report questionnaires in an online cross-sectional study. Participants included psychology students (N = 52), medical students (N = 69), non-medical HWs (N = 44), and medical HWs (N = 111). Results: We hypothesized that medical HWs would report the lowest levels of disgust and contagion beliefs, followed by medical students, non-medical HWs, and psychology students. This hypothesis was partially supported for trait disgust only. Contrary to expectations, HWs, regardless of medical background, reported the highest levels of contagion beliefs. Despite these elevated beliefs, HWs reported significantly lower contamination concerns than psychology students. Moreover, contagion beliefs were not associated with C-OCD symptoms among medical HWs, whereas this association was present in all other groups. Conclusions: Contagion beliefs may not be associated with C-OCD symptoms in the same way across contexts, particularly among individuals who regularly manage genuine contamination threats. Future research should investigate which factors may buffer HWs against the typically maladaptive association between contagion beliefs and C-OCD symptoms.
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BibTeX
@article{rothkegel2026disgust,
title = {{Disgust, Contagion Beliefs, and Contamination-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Hospital and Non-Hospital Workers}},
author = {Lars Oliver Martin Rothkegel and Nicolás Reinoso Schiller and Thamea Winterfeld and Stefan Bushuven and Simone Scheithauer and Jakob Fink-Lamotte},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15218452},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8452},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Disgust, Contagion Beliefs, and Contamination-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Hospital and Non-Hospital Workers
AU - Lars Oliver Martin Rothkegel
AU - Nicolás Reinoso Schiller
AU - Thamea Winterfeld
AU - Stefan Bushuven
AU - Simone Scheithauer
AU - Jakob Fink-Lamotte
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15218452
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8452
AB - Background: Recent research highlights the role of disgust in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), particularly contamination-related OCD (C-OCD). Beyond elevated trait disgust, individuals with C-OCD often endorse strong beliefs about the spread of contamination through contact (contagion beliefs). Hospital workers (HWs) operate in environments where contamination is part of daily life and must manage genuine infection risks and their own disgust responses. Methods: To examine whether hospital work and medical training may confer resilience relevant to C-OCD, disgust and contagion beliefs (confirmatory outcomes), as well as OCD symptoms and situation-specific contamination concerns (exploratory outcomes), were assessed using self-report questionnaires in an online cross-sectional study. Participants included psychology students (N = 52), medical students (N = 69), non-medical HWs (N = 44), and medical HWs (N = 111). Results: We hypothesized that medical HWs would report the lowest levels of disgust and contagion beliefs, followed by medical students, non-medical HWs, and psychology students. This hypothesis was partially supported for trait disgust only. Contrary to expectations, HWs, regardless of medical background, reported the highest levels of contagion beliefs. Despite these elevated beliefs, HWs reported significantly lower contamination concerns than psychology students. Moreover, contagion beliefs were not associated with C-OCD symptoms among medical HWs, whereas this association was present in all other groups. Conclusions: Contagion beliefs may not be associated with C-OCD symptoms in the same way across contexts, particularly among individuals who regularly manage genuine contamination threats. Future research should investigate which factors may buffer HWs against the typically maladaptive association between contagion beliefs and C-OCD symptoms.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -