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Parcopresis is a condition where individuals have trouble (or inability) defecating in restrooms due to the perceived scrutiny of others. The aim of the current research was to identify the prevalence of public toilet avoidance and explore if an extended socio-cognitive model of parcopresis predicts toilet avoidance. Seven-hundred and fourteen university students (73.2% female; mean age = 28.79 years) met criteria to participate and completed a series of questionnaires and ten restroom vignettes. On average 80.00% (gender adjusted 82.54%) of the participants chose to use an available toilet, while 16.78% (gender adjusted 14.44%) avoided a toilet for non-contamination fears. A further 3.22% (gender adjusted 3.01%) participants on average avoided using a toilet due to fears of contamination. Males were significantly more likely to use and not avoid toilets than females across all vignettes. A structural equation model (SEM) indicated the data supported the proposed model well (χ2 p value = .185, CMIN/df = 1.359, CFI = .998, TLI = .995, RMSEA = .023, SRMR = .0207) with significant direct relationships being found between: dysfunctional attitudes influencing fear of positive and negative evaluation and fear of social reprisal, and fear of positive and negative evaluation influencing fear of social reprisal and social anxiety symptoms. Social anxiety symptoms had a direct significant influence on parcopresis symptoms, while in turn parcopresis symptoms had a direct significant influence on toilet avoidance. The current study provides evidence that toilet avoidance is underpinned by social anxiety processes and affects at least 14.44% of university students.

Paruresis has been recognized as a subtype of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). A well-established model of SAD is the extended bivalent fear of evaluation model (extended BFOE) which include socio-cognitive processes such as fear of negative and positive evaluation (FNE and FPE), concerns of social reprisal (CSR), and disqualification of positive social outcomes (DPSO). In addition to the extended BFOE, dysfunctional attitudes (DAs) have also been recognized to contribute towards social anxiety symptoms and distress. The aim of this study was to examine whether an extended BFOE model for SAD could be used to explain paruresis and parcopresis symptoms. Three-hundred-and-sixteen undergraduate students (76.6% female; mean age = 31.25 years) completed a cross-sectional online study. A structural equation model (SEM) indicated the data supported the proposed model very well (χ2 p value = .345, CMIN/df = 1.064, CFI = 1.00, TLI = .999, RMSEA = .014, SRMR = .0107) with significant direct relationships being found between DAs and FNE (p = .002), DAs and FPE (p = .002), FNE and CSR (p = .001), FPE and CSR (p = .001), CSR and paruresis score (p = .045), CSR and DAs (p = .006), FPE and paruresis score (p = .001), FPE and parcopresis score (p = .004), FNE and paruresis score (p = .004), and FNE and parcopresis score (p = .002). Although this research should be replicated, the current study provides evidence that DAs, FNE, FPE and CSR are important contributory factors in paruresis and parcopresis symptoms.

The current study aimed to explore the validity of a single, self-report measure for bladder and bowel anxieties (Bladder and Bowel Anxiety Grouping Item; BABAGI), using two appropriate scales entitled the Shy Bladder and Bowel Scale (SBBS) and the Bladder and Bowel Incontinence Phobia Severity Scale (BBIPSS). This study also aimed to examine the similarities and differences in dysfunctional attitudes (DAs), fear of negative and positive evaluation (FNE and FPE), concerns of social reprisal (CSR), and disqualification of positive social outcomes (DPSO) across individuals who self-identify as having paruresis/parcopresis, incontinence anxiety, or neither condition according to the BABAGI measure. Three-hundred-and-six undergraduate students (77.1% female; mean age = 31.18 years) completed a cross-sectional, online study. The results supported the hypothesis that by using the BABAGI, self-reported paruresis/parcopresis could be reliably identified by SBBS scores of above 6.75 and that self-reported incontinence anxiety could be reliably identified by BBIPSS scores above 15.21. The results also supported the hypothesis that individuals who self-identified as having paruresis/parcopresis or incontinence anxiety would score higher in socio-cognitive processes (DAs, FNE, FPE, CSR, DPSO) compared to individuals who self-identified as having neither condition. Given that the paruresis/parcopresis and incontinence anxiety groups do not significantly differ from each other with respect to socio-cognitive processes, this suggests that both sets of conditions share similar underlying psychosocial processes.

To date, research exploring the socio-cognitive processes associated with paruresis and parcopresis symptomology is lacking. The current study aimed to investigate how the socio-cognitive processes dysfunctional attitudes (DAs) and fear of negative and positive evaluation (FNE and FPE respectively) relate to paruresis and parcopresis symptomology. In total, 254 undergraduate students (74.0% female; mean age = 31.67 years) completed a cross-sectional online study. A structural equation model indicated the data fit reasonably well (χ2 p value = .209, CMIN/df = 1.514, CFI = .995, TLI = .983, RMSEA = .045, SRMR = .0272), with FPE mediating the relationship between DAs and paruresis symptom severity (p = .001) along with parcopresis symptom severity (p = .001). However, secondary analyses identified that FPE and FNE act as mediators between DAs and paruresis and parcopresis symptom severity when placed in separate models. This is the first study to provide evidence that the psychosocial-cognitive processes DAs and fear of evaluation play an important role in paruresis and parcopresis symptomology. Although this research should be replicated, the current study provides evidence that DAs, and FPE are important contributory factors in paruresis and parcopresis symptoms.