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Parental psychopathology in child and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder

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Abstract

Purpose

To identify the lifetime prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other psychiatric diagnoses in parents of OCD pediatric patients as well as the frequency of onset of psychiatric disorders in the 6 months prior to evaluation.

Methods

Parents (n = 63) of 32 children and adolescents (20 males and 12 females; mean age of 13.3 ± 2.4) with OCD and parents of (n = 63) 32 age and sex-matched controls with no psychiatric diagnosis were examined. The semi-structured SCID-I was used to identify axis I psychiatric disorders and SCID-II to evaluate personality disorders.

Results

Mothers of patients had significantly more psychiatric diagnoses than control mothers (P = 0.001). Only parents of patients had diagnosis of OCD (P = 0.01) and psychiatric diagnosis (Adjustment Disorders, Major Depression, Anxiety Disorders) with onset during the 6 months prior to evaluation (P = 0.001). The duration of disease in children appeared to be related to development of morbidity in parents (P = 0.04). Parents of patients also showed a higher incidence of personality disorders (P = 0.01), in particular avoidant (6 versus 1 parents, P < 0.055) and obsessive-compulsive (9 versus 2 parents, P = 0.016) personality disorders.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that there may be an excess of psychopathology in parents of children with OCD as compared to parents of pediatric and non-psychiatric patients. Adjustment disorders with depressive and anxious symptoms are significantly more frequent in mothers of OCD children after the onset of the disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Dept., Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic Universitari, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    Rosa Calvo MD, PhD, Luisa Lázaro MD, PhD, Josefina Castro MD, PhD, Astrid Morer MD & Josep Toro MD, PhD

  2. IDIBAPS, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques Agustí Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain

    Luisa Lázaro MD, PhD & Josefina Castro MD, PhD

  3. Dept. of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Josep Toro MD, PhD

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  1. Rosa Calvo MD, PhD
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  2. Luisa Lázaro MD, PhD
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  3. Josefina Castro MD, PhD
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  5. Josep Toro MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Rosa Calvo MD, PhD.

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Calvo, R., Lázaro, L., Castro, J. et al. Parental psychopathology in child and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 42, 647–655 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0202-3

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