Disgust and Anxiety Sensitivity as Vulnerability Factors in Misophonia

Objective: This study was aimed at exploring the association between disgust sensitivity and misophonia. We explored the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship by specifically examining the mediating role of components of anxiety sensitivity in this association. Methods: Two hundred and thirteen individuals completed the online measures of disgust sensitivity, anxiety sensitivity and misophonia. Results: The results indicated that core disgust was significantly and positively associated with misophonic distress and aggressive behavioral reactions to triggers of misophonia but failed to correlate with nonaggressive reactions to the distress elicitors. Furthermore, the social concerns component of anxiety sensitivity partly mediated the association between core disgust and misophonic distress and the cognitive concerns component of anxiety sensitivity served as a mediator in the relationship of core disgust and aggressive behavioral reactions to misophonic distress elicitors. Direct effects of core disgust on misophonic distress were also found. Conclusions: Results highlight the significance of identifying the mechanisms that underlie the mediated paths between core disgust and emotional-behavioral features of misophonia. Findings point to a distinction between misophonia and obsessive compulsive and related disorders. Theoretical implications involving ‘not just right experiences’, sociomoral disgust and mental contamination are discussed.