Disgust domains in the prediction of contamination fear: A comparison of Dutch and US samples

The present study examines the disgust-contamination fear relationship among Dutch (N =260) and US (N =292) participants. US participants reported higher levels of disgust sensitivity across the majority of disgust domains and also endorsed stronger contamination fear than their Dutch counterparts. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that Injections and Blood Draws, Hygiene, and Smells reliably predicted contamination fear scores in both samples. However, Injections and Blood Draws was the dominant predictor in the Dutch sample, whereas Hygiene was the dominant predictor in the US sample. Furthermore, female gender was a significant, independent predictor only in the US analyses. Contamination fear in the Dutch sample was best predicted by core and animal reminder elicitors, whereas contamination fear in the US sample was best predicted by only core disgust domains. Implications for the further examination of disgust and contamination fear in the cross-cultural context are discussed.