normal intrusive thoughts

The table below shows the results of research findings from a survey of 293 students
(198 female, 95 male), none of who had a diagnosed mental health problem. The
column on the left shows the type of intrusive thought and the 2 columns on the right
show the percentage of women and men who said they had experienced that
particular thought.

item
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
.
11
.
12
.
13
.
14
.
15
.
16
.
17
.
18
.
19
.
20
.
21
.
22
.
23

driving into a window

running car off the road
hitting animals or people with car
swerving into traffic
smashing into objects
slitting wrist/throat
cutting off finger
jumping off a high place
fatally pushing a stranger

female
%
13
64
46
55
27
20
19
39
17

male %
16
56
54
52
40
22
16
46
34

22

25

29

20

14

hurting strangers

18

48

insulting strangers

50

59

bumping into people

37

43

insulting authority figure

34

48

insulting family

59

55

hurting family

42

50

choking family member

10

22

stabbing family member

11

accidentally leaving heat/stove on

79

66

home unlocked, intruder there

77

69

fatally pushing friend

jumping in front of train/car
pushing
train/car

stranger

in

front

of

pushing family in front of train/car

.
24
.
25
.
26
.
27
.
28
.
29
.
30
.
31
.
32
.
33
.

taps left on, home flooded

28

24

swearing in public

30

34

breaking wind in public

31

49

throwing something

28

26

causing a public scene

47

43

scratching car paint

26

43

breaking window

26

43

wrecking something

32

33

shoplifting

27

33

grabbing money

21

39
[p

to.]
female
%

male %

32

sex with unacceptable person

48

63

sex with authority figure

38

63

fly/blouse undone

27

40

kissing authority figure

37

44

21

acts against sexual preference

19

20

authority figures naked

42

54

strangers naked

51

80

sex in public

49

78

item
34
.
35
.
36
.
37
.
38
.
39
.
40
.
41
.
42
.
43

holding up bank

exposing myself

.
44
.
45
.
46
.
47
.
48
.
49
.
50
.
51
.
52
.

disgusting sex act

43

52

catching sexually transmitted disease

60

43

contamination from doors

35

24

contamination from phones

28

18

getting fatal disease from strangers

22

19

giving fatal disease to strangers

25

17

giving everything away

52

43

removing all dust from the floor

35

24

removing dust from unseen places

41

29

Purdon C. & Clark D. Obsessive intrusive thoughts in nonclinical subjects. Part 1

Content & relation with depressive, anxious & obsessional symptoms. Behav Res
Ther 1992;31:713-20