Discovering what is hidden: The role of non-ritualized covert neutralizing strategies in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity3119 @entity148
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Neutralizing strategies are secondary to obsessions and an additional cause of distress and interference, but they have received little attention in theories and research, especially the non-ritualized covert strategies. This study focuses on the comparative impact of non-ritualized covert and compulsive-overt strategies in the course of @entity3119 . METHODS: Eighty-two @entity3119 adult @entity1 completed measures assessing distress, interference, appraisals and overt and covert neutralizing strategies to control obsessions. Thirty-eight @entity1 who had completed cognitive therapy were assessed again after treatment. RESULTS: Only overt compulsions are associated with @entity3119 severity. Nonetheless, considering the main symptom dimension, covert strategies are also associated with severity in @entity1 with moral-based obsessions. @entity1 who used covert strategies more frequently, compared to those who use them less, reported more sadness, guilt, control importance, interference, and dysfunctional appraisals. Regarding the overt strategies, @entity1 who used them more reported more @entity148 and ascribed more personal meaning to their obsessions than the @entity1 who used them less. After treatment, recovered @entity1 decreased their use of both covert and overt strategies, while non-recovered @entity1 did not. There was a higher rate of non-recovered @entity1 among those who used more non-ritualized covert strategies before treatment. LIMITATIONS: Emotions and appraisals were assessed with a single item. @entity3119 symptom dimensions were only assessed by the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to studying overt compulsions, the impact of covert neutralizing strategies on the @entity3119 course and severity warrants more in-depth study.
