Mental health, coping and family-functioning in parents of young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and with anxiety disorders

Jo Derisley, Sarah Libby, Sarah Clark, Shirley Reynolds

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective. To compare mental health, coping and family-functioning in parents of young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and no known mental health problems.

Method. Parents of young people with OCD (N=28), other anxiety disorders (N=28), and no known mental health problems (N=62) completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1993), the Coping Responses Inventory (Moos, 1990), and the McMaster family assessment device (Epstein, Baldwin, & Bishop, 1983).

Results. Parents of children with OCD and anxiety disorders had poorer mental health and used more avoidant coping than parents of non-clinical children. There were no group differences in family-functioning.

Conclusion. The similarities across the parents of clinically referred children suggest that there is a case for encouraging active parental involvement in the treatment of OCD in young people.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)439-444
Number of pages6
JournalBritish Journal of Clinical Psychology
Volume44
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005

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