The Assessment of Factors Affecting Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Thoughts control, attention, and concentration are the effective factors in studying and learning. The lack of attention and concentration is the result of the invasion of intrusive thoughts. This research was conducted to explore the factors affecting the unwanted intrusive thoughts in normal people in 2017. Method: This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis (thematic analysis). Research or databases include all print media, articles, books, and dissertations related to the subject of the research. Sampling was performed using purposive sampling. All information-rich resources that were related to the subject of the study were included and unrelated sources were excluded. Finally, data were collected by a deep study of 120 papers, 10 books, and 4 dissertations. Results: The findings included 285 coding concepts, 75 subthemes, and 8 main themes. The main themes in terms of the frequency were thought control strategies, metacognitive beliefs, mood characteristics, intrusive thought characteristics, mindfulness, personality traits, context and culture, and working memory capacity, respectively.. Conclusion: The most effective factors on intrusive thoughts, in terms of the frequency, were thought control strategies, metacognitive beliefs, mood characteristics, intrusive thought characteristics, mindfulness, personality traits, context and culture, and working memory capacity, respectively. The results of this also provided a model to determine the effect of main factors affecting unwanted intrusive thoughts.