Assessment of insight and overvalued ideation: In obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Conventionally, insight has been understood as the ability of an individual to accurately understand their own internal world, to objectively view their own behavior or recognize their own illness, and to appropriately speculate about the thoughts and actions of others (Basil, Mathews, Sudak, & Adetunji, 2005). However, insight is not a dichotomy, present or absent, but rather believed to be multidimensional, varying among individuals (Foa, Kozak et al., 1995). Further, insight involves self-awareness, an understanding of the effects of one's illness on his/her current and future abilities, and an understanding of the need for treatment (Basil et al., 2005). Not only do individuals have varying levels of insight (poor to partial to good), but insight may vary within the same individual throughout the course of his/her disorder (Yaryura-Tobias, 2004). In addition, individuals may have insight into some aspects of their illness while being unaware of others.