The Relationship Between Rumination and Social Media Use in Patients Diagnosed With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Objective To examine the relationships between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom severity, rumination, and problematic social media use. Methods A total of 220 participants (112 patients with OCD and 108 healthy controls) completed the Positive and Negative Rumination Scale (PANRS) and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). OCD diagnoses were confirmed using the SCID-5-CV, and symptom severity was assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Between-group comparisons, correlation, mediation, and hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Results Patients with OCD showed significantly higher problematic social media use and negative rumination, and lower positive rumination than controls (all P < 0.001). Problematic social media use was positively correlated with OCD symptom severity and negative rumination and negatively correlated with positive rumination. Negative rumination partially mediated the relationship between OCD symptom severity and problematic social media use and remained a significant predictor independent of age and OCD severity. Conclusions Problematic social media use is elevated in OCD and is associated with symptom severity and maladaptive ruminative processes. Negative rumination may represent a cognitive mechanism linking OCD symptoms to problematic social media use.