Background:Little is known about the impact of interpersonal betrayal experiences on mental health. Research suggests a link between betrayal and mental contamination (MC) within some forms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This study represents an initial exploration of that link in clinical samples.Aims:A measure for assessing perceptions of betrayal was developed and evaluated (Study 1) in order to assess the extent of specificity of any association between the impact of betrayal and MC, and to estimate the extent of the impact of betrayal across common psychological disorders (Study 2).Method:In Study 1, the Perception of Betrayal Scale (POBS) was completed by 217 community participants; an exploratory principal components analysis identified the dimensional structure of the POBS. Study 2 was based on a cross-sectional, between-groups design, with three clinical groups [OCD (n = 23), other anxiety disorders (n = 21) and depression (n = 18)] and a non-clinical control group (n = 21). Three clinical groups (OCD, other anxiety disorders, and depression) and a community group completed a selection of measures via questionnaire.Results:In Study 1, the POBS was found to have an internal consistency of α = .95, and four factors were identified: preoccupation with betrayal events, belief that betrayal had caused major life change, lack of trust due to betrayal and betrayal leading to traumatic responses. In Study 2, the OCD group scored more highly in terms of maladaptive perceptions of betrayal than the other groups. Regression analysis showed betrayal scores to be a moderate predictor of the experience of MC; the POBS subscales lack of trust due to betrayal and betrayal leading to traumatic responses were found to be significantly associated with MC. Although there was some overlap with bitterness, betrayal better predicted MC.Conclusion:Findings support the hypothesis of a specific relationship between the construct of betrayal and MC.

中文翻译：

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“我被当作污垢对待”：评估临床样本中背叛和精神污染之间的联系

背景：人们对人际背叛经历对心理健康的影响知之甚少。研究表明，在某些形式的强迫症 (OCD) 中，背叛和精神污染 (MC) 之间存在联系。本研究代表了对临床样本中这种联系的初步探索。目的：开发和评估了一种评估背叛感知的措施（研究 1），以评估背叛和 MC 的影响之间的任何关联的特异性程度，以及估计背叛对常见心理障碍的影响程度（研究 2）。方法：在研究 1 中，217 名社区参与者完成了背叛感知量表（POBS）；探索性主成分分析确定了 POBS 的维度结构。研究 2 基于横断面，n= 23), 其他焦虑症 (n= 21) 和抑郁症 (n= 18)] 和非临床对照组 (n= 21)。三个临床组（强迫症、其他焦虑症和抑郁症）和一个社区组通过问卷完成了一系列措施的选择。结果：在研究 1 中，发现 POBS 具有 α = .95 的内部一致性，四个因素是确定：专注于背叛事件,相信背叛导致了重大的生活改变,由于背叛而缺乏信任和背叛导致创伤性反应. 在研究 2 中，强迫症组在背叛的不适应感知方面得分高于其他组。回归分析显示背叛分数是 MC 经历的中等预测指标；POBS分量表由于背叛而缺乏信任和背叛导致创伤性反应发现与 MC 显着相关。虽然与苦涩有一些重叠，但背叛更好地预测了MC。结论：研究结果支持背叛结构与MC之间存在特定关系的假设。