How Do Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Traits Contribute to Prolonged Grief? A Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective

Obsessive–compulsive personality traits, as described in the DSM, include preoccupation with details, perfectionism, workaholism, over-conscientiousness, hoarding tendencies, reluctance to delegate, a miserly spending style, rigidity, and stubbornness. These traits are also known to be closely associated with emotional suppression, resistance to change, and an excessive need for control. Grief involves navigating intense emotions, restructuring the future, and adapting to changes in interpersonal roles and responsibilities. In this context, the present study aimed to test a theoretical model examining the relationships between obsessive-compulsive personality traits and negative grief-related cognitions, avoidance, a sense of unrealness, and prolonged grief disorder symptoms. The sample consisted of 486 adult participants who had lost loved ones in the last five years. Participants completed a survey battery consisting of the Pathological Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Scale, the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale, the Grief Cognitions Questionnaire, the Depressive and Anxious Avoidance in Prolonged Grief Questionnaire, and the Experienced Unrealness Scale. Structural equation modeling tested the fit of the hypothesized theoretical model. The results supported the model, in which obsessive-compulsive personality traits were directly associated with anxious avoidance, negative grief-related cognitions, and a sense of unrealness, each of which was, in turn, associated with increased prolonged grief. All paths in the model were statistically significant. Findings suggest that higher levels of obsessive-compulsive personality traits are associated with increased avoidance of grief reminders, more negative grief-related cognitions, and difficulty in facing the reality of the loss, which are in turn associated with higher levels of prolonged grief.