Parental educational styles and emotions as predictors of obsessive-compulsive responses in adolescent population

Abstract

Family and emotional variables are related to the development and maintenance of different psychopathological disorders. The aim of this study was to analyze differences between emotional variables (emotion regulation, optimism and tolerance to frustration) and family variables (perceived educational styles) with obsessive-compulsive responses. Method: Participants were 473 adolescents (249 boys and 224 girls) aged between 12 and 18 years old (M = 14.84, SD = 1.83) who were studying Secondary Education. Results: The optimism variable reached the highest explanatory weight of obsession-compulsion, followed by attention to symptoms, sharing of feeling with father and tolerance to frustration. The scores in anxiety and depression showed a high percentage of variance explained. Conclusions: Optimism, adequate attention to symptoms, tolerance to frustration and relationships of trust between parents and children could be protective factors of obsessive-compulsive thoughts.