The Role of Mind Wandering, Psychological Flexibility, and Emotional Processing Styles in Predicting Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Type 2 diabetes, as a chronic disease, is associated not only with physical complications but also with various psychological problems, including obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of mind wandering, psychological flexibility, and emotional processing styles in predicting obsessive–compulsive symptoms among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methodology: This study employed a descriptive correlational design. The statistical population included all patients with type 2 diabetes who attended the diabetes clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ardabil in 2020, from whom 120 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Maudsley Obsessive–Compulsive Inventory, the Deliberate and Spontaneous Mind Wandering Scales, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, and the Emotional Processing Scale. Data analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis in SPSS-24.

Findings: The results indicated that obsessive–compulsive symptoms had significant positive correlations with both deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering. In addition, psychological flexibility showed a significant negative correlation with obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Emotional processing styles, including intrusion, inappropriateness, dissociation, dysregulation, suppression, and avoidance, were also positively associated with obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the predictor variables collectively explained 57% of the variance in obsessive–compulsive symptoms, with spontaneous mind wandering, psychological flexibility, and several emotional processing styles significantly predicting symptom severity.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that mind wandering, psychological flexibility, and emotional processing styles play important roles in predicting obsessive–compulsive symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, psychological interventions aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility, reducing maladaptive mind wandering, and improving emotional processing styles may help decrease obsessive–compulsive symptoms in these patients.