{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8264"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/8264","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Separation-distress as an affective mechanism of OCD","abstract":"In this thesis, a series of four studies were carried out to address the question of whether separation distress (the associated feeling state of the basic emotion substrate PANIC; Panksepp, 1998) is a significant constituent of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim was to characterize more accurately the affective nature of the disorder. Separation-distress and separation trauma were examined in samples of people with high scores on measures of obsessionality and low mood, and in patients with clinical OCD and depression; as well as in control groups. The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (Cartwright-Hatton & Wells, 1997) Padua Inventory (Sanavio, 1988), Major Depression Inventory (Olsen, Jensen, Noerholm, Martiny, & Bech, 2003) and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) were used to position participants from low- to high-scoring on spectrums of obsessionality and low mood (Studies I and II) and of OCD and depression (Studies III and IV). Participants were then evaluated on measures of separation-distress, using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (Silove et al., 1993), the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (Cyranowski et al., 2002), the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (Manicavasagar, Silove, Wagner, & Drobny, 2003) and the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (Davis, Panksepp, & Normansell, 2003). Descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlational analysis, independent and dependent t tests and mediation, confirmed that separation-distress is significantly and consistently higher in those who score higher on obsessionality and low mood, as well as in patients with OCD and depression. Heightened separation-distress is therefore strongly implicated in both OCD and depression. It was also found to be a critical variable in the well-recognized comorbidity of the two disorders. Chisquare contingency analysis was performed on the categorical data collected for early separation trauma experiences. The results showed that the development of OCD and/or depression in adulthood is highly contingent on the experience of separation trauma during critical early life periods. The main hypothesis, that separation-distress is a central affective mechanism of OCD, was confirmed.","abstract_html":"In this thesis, a series of four studies were carried out to address the question of whether separation distress (the associated feeling state of the basic emotion substrate PANIC; Panksepp, 1998) is a significant constituent of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim was to characterize more accurately the affective nature of the disorder. Separation-distress and separation trauma were examined in samples of people with high scores on measures of obsessionality and low mood, and in patients with clinical OCD and depression; as well as in control groups. The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (Cartwright-Hatton & Wells, 1997) Padua Inventory (Sanavio, 1988), Major Depression Inventory (Olsen, Jensen, Noerholm, Martiny, & Bech, 2003) and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) were used to position participants from low- to high-scoring on spectrums of obsessionality and low mood (Studies I and II) and of OCD and depression (Studies III and IV). Participants were then evaluated on measures of separation-distress, using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (Silove et al., 1993), the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (Cyranowski et al., 2002), the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (Manicavasagar, Silove, Wagner, & Drobny, 2003) and the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (Davis, Panksepp, & Normansell, 2003). Descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlational analysis, independent and dependent t tests and mediation, confirmed that separation-distress is significantly and consistently higher in those who score higher on obsessionality and low mood, as well as in patients with OCD and depression. Heightened separation-distress is therefore strongly implicated in both OCD and depression. It was also found to be a critical variable in the well-recognized comorbidity of the two disorders. Chisquare contingency analysis was performed on the categorical data collected for early separation trauma experiences. The results showed that the development of OCD and/or depression in adulthood is highly contingent on the experience of separation trauma during critical early life periods. The main hypothesis, that separation-distress is a central affective mechanism of OCD, was confirmed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jackson, Michelle"],"institution":"Department of Psychology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Solms, Mark"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2009,"date_issued":"2009","date_published":"2009","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:22Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8264","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Solms, Mark"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jackson, Michelle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-10-08T09:43:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-10-08T09:43:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2009"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Doctoral Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["PhD"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8264"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Includes abstract.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-171)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis, a series of four studies were carried out to address the question of whether separation distress (the associated feeling state of the basic emotion substrate PANIC; Panksepp, 1998) is a significant constituent of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim was to characterize more accurately the affective nature of the disorder. Separation-distress and separation trauma were examined in samples of people with high scores on measures of obsessionality and low mood, and in patients with clinical OCD and depression; as well as in control groups. The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (Cartwright-Hatton & Wells, 1997) Padua Inventory (Sanavio, 1988), Major Depression Inventory (Olsen, Jensen, Noerholm, Martiny, & Bech, 2003) and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) were used to position participants from low- to high-scoring on spectrums of obsessionality and low mood (Studies I and II) and of OCD and depression (Studies III and IV). Participants were then evaluated on measures of separation-distress, using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (Silove et al., 1993), the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (Cyranowski et al., 2002), the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (Manicavasagar, Silove, Wagner, & Drobny, 2003) and the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (Davis, Panksepp, & Normansell, 2003). Descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlational analysis, independent and dependent t tests and mediation, confirmed that separation-distress is significantly and consistently higher in those who score higher on obsessionality and low mood, as well as in patients with OCD and depression. Heightened separation-distress is therefore strongly implicated in both OCD and depression. It was also found to be a critical variable in the well-recognized comorbidity of the two disorders. Chisquare contingency analysis was performed on the categorical data collected for early separation trauma experiences. The results showed that the development of OCD and/or depression in adulthood is highly contingent on the experience of separation trauma during critical early life periods. The main hypothesis, that separation-distress is a central affective mechanism of OCD, was confirmed."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Separation-distress as an affective mechanism of OCD"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Solms, Mark"],"dc:creator":["Jackson, Michelle"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-10-08T09:43:57Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-10-08T09:43:57Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2009"],"dc:description":["Includes abstract.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-171)."],"dc:description.abstract":["In this thesis, a series of four studies were carried out to address the question of whether separation distress (the associated feeling state of the basic emotion substrate PANIC; Panksepp, 1998) is a significant constituent of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim was to characterize more accurately the affective nature of the disorder. Separation-distress and separation trauma were examined in samples of people with high scores on measures of obsessionality and low mood, and in patients with clinical OCD and depression; as well as in control groups. The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (Cartwright-Hatton & Wells, 1997) Padua Inventory (Sanavio, 1988), Major Depression Inventory (Olsen, Jensen, Noerholm, Martiny, & Bech, 2003) and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) were used to position participants from low- to high-scoring on spectrums of obsessionality and low mood (Studies I and II) and of OCD and depression (Studies III and IV). Participants were then evaluated on measures of separation-distress, using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (Silove et al., 1993), the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (Cyranowski et al., 2002), the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (Manicavasagar, Silove, Wagner, & Drobny, 2003) and the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (Davis, Panksepp, & Normansell, 2003). Descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlational analysis, independent and dependent t tests and mediation, confirmed that separation-distress is significantly and consistently higher in those who score higher on obsessionality and low mood, as well as in patients with OCD and depression. Heightened separation-distress is therefore strongly implicated in both OCD and depression. It was also found to be a critical variable in the well-recognized comorbidity of the two disorders. Chisquare contingency analysis was performed on the categorical data collected for early separation trauma experiences. The results showed that the development of OCD and/or depression in adulthood is highly contingent on the experience of separation trauma during critical early life periods. The main hypothesis, that separation-distress is a central affective mechanism of OCD, was confirmed."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8264"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Psychology"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["Separation-distress as an affective mechanism of OCD"],"dc:type":["Doctoral Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:22Z"}