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  • Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?
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  • Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?

Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?

Donatella Marazziti, Federico Mucci, Armando Piccinni, Davide Dèttore, Andrea Pozza

Accepted August 31, 2019

First published August 31, 2019

https://doi.org/10.26387/bpa.285.6

Abstract

The present Covid-19 outbreak is an international public health emergency that has imposed to people
strict mobility/activity restrictions and changes in the hygiene habits, essential to limit/delay virus diffusion. Early
identification of and intervention on contamination obsessive fear, a core symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD), are always of paramount importance, and in critical periods, such as the present one, should be imperative. OCD
is generally associated with a delay in the correct diagnosis and first professional management of several years after
symptom onset. A longer duration of untreated illness is in turn associated with a worst prognosis, higher treatment
resistance and other clinical complications, as well as increased societal costs. It seems to be crucial to promote
research efforts devoted to the early identification of subgroups at risk of developing clinically relevant contamination
symptoms, to understand more deeply the vulnerability and protective mechanisms involved in this pathophysiological
process in order to plan evidence-based early intervention strategies.

Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?

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Issue:

Issue 285

Keywords:

Contamination fear

Covid-19

Early intervention

Obsessive beliefs

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Pandemic

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Author Surname Author Initial. Title. Publication Title. Year Published;Volume number(Issue number):Pages Used. doi:DOI Number.


Marazziti Donatella . Mucci Federico . Piccinni Armando . Dèttore Davide . Pozza Andrea . Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?. BPA Applied Psychology Bulletin. 2019;285(1):62-70. doi:10.26387/bpa.285.1.
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Author Surname Author Initial. Title. Publication Title. Year Published;Volume number(Issue number):Pages Used. doi:DOI Number.


Marazziti Donatella . Mucci Federico . Piccinni Armando . Dèttore Davide . Pozza Andrea . Covid-19 outbreak: A challenge calling for early intervention on contamination obsessive fears?. BPA Applied Psychology Bulletin. 2019;285(1):62-70. doi:10.26387/bpa.285.1.