Parenting styles and their correlates in adolescents diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive disorder

Abstract

Objectives: The study examined parenting styles in adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and the relationship between parenting styles, parental personality and severity of OCD. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 103 adolescents diagnosed with OCD (Mean age = 15.66; SD= 1.63 years) and their parents (Mothers n=84, Fathers n=74) were recruited. The Yale- Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Screen for Childhood and Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED) were administered to assess OCD and comorbid anxiety severity. Both adolescents and parents responded to the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) short version to assess parenting styles from both perspectives. Parents also responded to Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (EPI) as a measure of personality. Results: There was a significant difference between adolescent perceptions and the fathers’ selfreport on authoritative and authoritarian parenting style. Adolescent rated maternal authoritarian parenting styles was significantly associated with adolescent anxiety. Parents’ scores on neuroticism correlated with authoritarian and indulgent parenting styles (adolescent rated and parent-rated) and adolescent self-report of anxiety. Conclusions: Maternal authoritarian parenting style was associated with anxiety. Parental neuroticism was associated with rigid and indulgent parenting styles. Authoritarian and indulgent parenting styles play an important role in adolescents diagnosed with OCD and having comorbid anxiety.