Predictors of parental accommodation in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: findings from the Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment Study (POTS) trial.

OBJECTIVE

Few studies have examined predictors of parental accommodation (assessed with the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent Report) among families of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). No studies have examined this phenomenon using empirically derived subscales of the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent Report (i.e., Caregiver Involvement, Avoidance of Triggers).

METHOD

Ninety-six youths (and their families) were included in the present study. Parents were asked to complete the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent Report. Families also completed several additional measurements assessing child- and parent-level variables of interest. Regression analyses were used to examine potential predictors of accommodation.

RESULTS

Results support prior research suggesting that accommodation is ubiquitous among the families of children with OCD. Analyses revealed that several child-level (i.e., compulsion severity, oppositional behavior, and frequency of washing symptoms) and one parent-level (i.e., symptoms of anxiety) predictors work jointly to provide significant predictive models of parental accommodation.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians and researchers should be aware of the impact of specific child- and parent-level variables on family accommodation in pediatric OCD and in turn their implications for treatment compliance, adherence, and, by extension, outcome. Study limitations warrant replication and extension of these findings; in particular, researchers may seek to obtain a better understanding of how the various facets of parental accommodation may differentially affect treatment.