Background

Disgust is theorized to serve a unique function of motivating avoidance of noxious stimuli and setting interpersonal boundaries to prevent contamination. Research has established the relevance of disgust to OCD, posttraumatic stress, and phobias, suggesting transdiagnostic features. However, research has not always accounted for overlap of disgust with other negative emotions, obscuring unique contributions. Moreover, studies have not disentangled between-person (mean levels) and within-person (state) effects. The present study examined within- and between-person relationships of disgust, anxiety, and dysphoria with responses to daily social stressors. We expected disgust would uniquely predict cognitive avoidance and boundary-setting interpersonal behavior.

Method

Individuals (N = 159) meeting ADIS-V anxiety/depressive disorder criteria (n = 55) and healthy controls (n = 104) completed online journals about naturalistic social stressors over five weeks (1,923 records), reporting disgust, anxiety, dysphoria, and responses to social stressors.

Results

As expected, disgust uniquely predicted lower acceptance, greater thought suppression, greater self-assertion, and less prosocial behavior, above and beyond anxiety and dysphoria. Several disgust effects were present at both between- and within-person levels, suggesting the relevance of both mean disgust and state fluctuations.

Conclusions

Results demonstrate unique relevance of disgust for how individuals respond to social stressors.

中文翻译：

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在自然压力源的背景下，厌恶独特地预测了超越焦虑和烦躁的应对和人际交往过程

背景

从理论上讲，厌恶具有独特的功能，可以促使人们避免有害刺激，并设定人际界限以防止污染。研究已经确定了厌恶与强迫症、创伤后压力和恐惧症的相关性，这表明具有跨诊断特征。然而，研究并不总是考虑到厌恶与其他负面情绪的重叠，从而掩盖了独特的贡献。此外，研究并没有解开人与人之间（平均水平）和人内（状态）的影响。本研究检查了人与人之间的厌恶、焦虑和烦躁的关系以及对日常社交压力的反应。我们预计厌恶会独特地预测认知回避和设定边界的人际行为。

方法

符合 ADIS-V 焦虑/抑郁症标准 ( n = 55) 和健康对照 ( n = 104) 的个人 ( N = 159)在五周内完成了关于自然社会压力源的在线期刊（1,923 条记录），报告了厌恶、焦虑、烦躁、以及对社会压力的反应。

结果

正如预期的那样，厌恶独特地预测了较低的接受度、更大的思想抑制、更大的自我主张和更少的亲社会行为，超出了焦虑和烦躁不安。在人与人之间的水平上都存在几种厌恶效应，表明平均厌恶和状态波动的相关性。

结论

结果表明，厌恶与个人对社会压力的反应具有独特的相关性。