ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Perceived parenting in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is examined. We attempted to overcome some methodological limitations of prior studies by taking age of onset, parental OCD and comorbid depression into consideration. In addition, we included data from unaffected siblings to corroborate information on parental rearing. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-two cases with OCD and 41 of their siblings as well as 59 healthy controls and 45 of their siblings completed the German short-version of the EMBU (FEE). RESULTS: Obsessive-compulsive disorder cases reported less parental warmth and more parental rejection and control. Further analyses indicated that parenting is also associated with OCD in cases with late onset and cases without parents affected by OCD. OCD cases with comorbid depression described their parents particularly negatively. Data from siblings indicated good validity of perceived parenting in OCD. CONCLUSION: This study provides further evidence for dysfunctional child rearing being relevant to the development of OCD and depression.
Subject(s)
Child Rearing/psychology , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/psychology , Parenting/psychology , Perception , Siblings/psychology , Adult , Age of Onset , Child , Depression/complications , Father-Child Relations , Fathers/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mother-Child Relations , Mothers/psychology , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/complications , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is usually conceptualized as an anxiety disorder some studies suggested it to be a deficit of impulse control. The purpose of this study was to assess impulsiveness in OCD families and compare it to control families. METHOD: Seventy cases and their 139 relatives were compared with 70 controls and their 134 relatives from a German family study on OCD (German Epidemiologic Network for OCD Studies). All subjects were interviewed and diagnosed according DSM-IV criteria and were administered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and PADUA-Inventory to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms. RESULTS: OCD subjects had significantly higher scores of cognitive impulsiveness. However, first-degree relatives of OCD cases and of controls had comparable BIS-11 scores. Significant associations of aggressive obsessions and checking with cognitive impulsiveness were found. CONCLUSION: OCD is a severe mental disorder that is characterized by a lack of cognitive inhibition. However, impulsiveness does not represent a familial trait in families of OCD subjects.
