Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and impulsivity have been studied in the literature, but little evidence has linked exercise in substantively reducing levels of impulsivity in young adults with OCD symptomology. This study seeks to shed light on the topic and provide a clearer understanding of how OCD symptomology is connected to impulsivity, how exercise and perceived support are related to impulsivity, and if exercise and perceived support are moderators in the relationship between OCD symptomology and emotional impulsivity. The sample for this study consisted of college students currently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (N = 87, aged 17-21, 54.9% female). Demographics, personality, psychological questions and exercise questions were administered to evaluate levels of impulsivity, perceived social support, perceived autonomy support, exercise and OCD symptomology in the sample. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to test the hypotheses and revealed that OCD symptomology is related to emotional impulsivity, but exercise and perceived support, both social and autonomy, were not associated with lower emotional impulsivity levels, and that exercise and perceived support were not moderators in the relationship between OCD symptomology and emotional impulsivity. Having a clearer picture about how OCD symptomology is associated with impulsivity levels, exercise, and perceived support may help future researchers improve the social lives of individuals with higher OCD symptomology. Future studies will likely focus on other ways to decrease impulsivity and design interventions that include exercise and perceived support, especially for younger adults and college age students.