Heightened Sense of Incompleteness in Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

Emily J. Ricketts*, Ívar Snorrason, Abel S. Mathew, Erna Sigurvinsdottir, Ragnar Pétur Ólafsson, Douglas W. Woods, Han Joo Lee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder (SPD) is characterized by repetitive skin picking resulting in tissue damage. This study examined associations between the tendency to experience a sense of incompleteness (henceforth trait incompleteness) and pathological skin picking across two studies. Methods: In study 1, undergraduate students (n = 481) completed self-report measures of skin picking severity, trait incompleteness, perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and negative affect (i.e., depression, anxiety). In study 2, undergraduate students with a diagnosis of SPD (n = 61) and a control group without SPD (n = 63) rated skin picking severity, trait incompleteness, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and negative affect (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). Results: In study 1, linear regression showed that trait incompleteness significantly predicted skin picking severity, after controlling for other variables. In study 2, logistic regression showed trait incompleteness significantly predicted SPD diagnosis, after controlling for other variables. There was no significant correlation between incompleteness and symptom severity within the SPD group. Conclusions: The results indicate a robust association between SPD and trait incompleteness. More research is needed to establish whether trait incompleteness may represent a vulnerability factor underlying SPD, or if skin picking leads to susceptibility to trait incompleteness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)759-766
Number of pages8
JournalCognitive Therapy and Research
Volume45
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Dr. Ricketts has received research support from the BFRB Precision Medicine Initiative granted by the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Snorrason, Dr. Ólafsson, Ms. Sigurvinsdottir and Mr. Mathew declare that they have no conflict of interest. Dr. Woods has received royalties from Oxford University Press and Springer Press. Dr. Lee has received research support from the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, and the Tourette Association of America.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.

Other keywords

  • Incompleteness
  • Just right
  • Picking
  • Sensory

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