Abstract
Objectives
Family accommodation refers to the actions conducted by family members catering to the child´s obsessions (symptoms, e.g., obsessional fear) with the intention to reduce potential anxiety, distress or impairment. It may maintain compulsion-related behavior and avoidance as the feared triggers may not be experienced fully, thus inhibiting any corrective learning or habituation.
The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence as well as clinical and demographic correlates of accommodation, using a large Scandinavian sample of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Methods
Participants included 238 children with OCD who were administered a standardized diagnostic interview and an interview to assess OCD symptom severity, along with questionnaires assessing functional impairment as well as internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Family accommodation was measured using the Family Accommodation Scale, a 12-item clinician-rated interview.
Results
We confirmed a high frequency of accommodation, as it occurred among most primary caregivers (98% reporting accommodation at least once per week), and about 70% performing some kind of accommodation every day of the week. Accommodation was associated with increased OCD symptom severity, contamination/cleaning type, internalizing and externalizing behavior, and functional impairment. Accommodation was also associated with younger age. It mediated the relationship between OCD symptom severity/externalizing behavior and functional impairment. Accommodation is common in pediatric OCD, and it is related to more severe OCD symptoms, functional impairment, contamination/cleaning type, and the child‘s general psychopathology.
Conclusions
These results emphasize the importance of evaluating accommodation before start of treatment and the need to specifically target family accommodation during treatment.
Family accommodation refers to the actions conducted by family members catering to the child´s obsessions (symptoms, e.g., obsessional fear) with the intention to reduce potential anxiety, distress or impairment. It may maintain compulsion-related behavior and avoidance as the feared triggers may not be experienced fully, thus inhibiting any corrective learning or habituation.
The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence as well as clinical and demographic correlates of accommodation, using a large Scandinavian sample of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Methods
Participants included 238 children with OCD who were administered a standardized diagnostic interview and an interview to assess OCD symptom severity, along with questionnaires assessing functional impairment as well as internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Family accommodation was measured using the Family Accommodation Scale, a 12-item clinician-rated interview.
Results
We confirmed a high frequency of accommodation, as it occurred among most primary caregivers (98% reporting accommodation at least once per week), and about 70% performing some kind of accommodation every day of the week. Accommodation was associated with increased OCD symptom severity, contamination/cleaning type, internalizing and externalizing behavior, and functional impairment. Accommodation was also associated with younger age. It mediated the relationship between OCD symptom severity/externalizing behavior and functional impairment. Accommodation is common in pediatric OCD, and it is related to more severe OCD symptoms, functional impairment, contamination/cleaning type, and the child‘s general psychopathology.
Conclusions
These results emphasize the importance of evaluating accommodation before start of treatment and the need to specifically target family accommodation during treatment.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication date | 1 Jul 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2023 |
| Event | 20th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Copenhagen, Denmark Duration: 29 Jun 2023 → 1 Jul 2023 Conference number: 20 https://www.escap2023.eu/ |
Conference
| Conference | 20th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
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| Number | 20 |
| Country/Territory | Denmark |
| City | Copenhagen |
| Period | 29/06/2023 → 01/07/2023 |
| Internet address |