Sexual minorities who have experienced trauma related to their identity may engage in compulsions in an attempt to avoid threats of harm, despite the internal stress caused by compulsions. A link between trauma exposure and the development of OCD symptoms has been found, and compulsions may serve as a coping mechanism that inhibits affective processing and promotes avoidance of anxiety-provoking stimuli. Avoidance may serve to reduce distress and to give the illusion that future threats may be prevented- for example, someone who has experienced traumatic victimization may engage in compulsive checking of locks to seemingly prevent it happening again.

Harm Avoidance via Compulsions in Sexual Minorities with OCD

Sexual minorities, when compared to heterosexual individuals with OCD, are more likely to have unacceptable/intrusive thoughts related to violence, sex, and/or religion, and may be less concerned with contamination and germs.

Content of Obsessive Thoughts in Sexual Minorities with OCD

The Diathesis-Stress Model of OCD posits that adverse life events contribute to the likelihood of an individual to develop OCD. As sexual minorities often encounter traumatic incidents and experience minority stress, they may be at elevated risk of developing obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Cleveland State University

Sexual minorities experience unique stress in the form of external discrimination, microaggressions, internalized stigma and homophobia, social rejection, and identity discomfort and concealment. The accumulation of these identity-based stressors is believed to explain the increased incidence of OCD in this population and have an effect on the content of their obsessive thoughts and types of compulsions.

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Sexual Minorities

Pinciotti, C. M., & Orcutt, H. K. (2021). Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in sexual minorities. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 8(4), 487–495. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000437 

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