RESEARCH_FILE
Jedidiah Siev
Swarthmore College
Known for:Clinical characterization of scrupulosity OCD — its symptoms, comorbidities, religious features, and barriers to treatment
Key findings
- 2011
People with scrupulous OCD (predominantly religious obsessions) are less likely to seek or complete treatment than those with non-scrupulous OCD, report that symptoms interfere more with their religious experience, and show more severe impairment — suggesting the religious frame that generates the guilt also prevents people from getting help. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder with Predominantly Scrupulous Symptoms: Clinical and Religious Characteristics ↗
- 2021
Compared to non-scrupulous OCD and healthy controls, people with scrupulous OCD have significantly higher rates of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, more severe schizotypal symptoms, poorer quality of life, and poor insight — meaning they are less able to recognize that their unworthiness beliefs are a disorder rather than a true moral assessment. Clinical Features of Scrupulosity: Associated Symptoms and Comorbidity ↗