The Relationship Between Parental Reports of Their Children's Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Thought-Action Fusion With the Parent-Child Relationship Structure in Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationship between parental reports of their children's obsessive-compulsive symptoms and thought-action fusion with the structure of the parent-child relationship in adolescents diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Methodology: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 83 adolescents diagnosed with OCD and their parents. Participants were selected through a multi-stage process, beginning with the screening of 400 middle school students in Ardabil, followed by diagnostic interviews based on DSM-5 criteria. The final sample consisted of 83 adolescents and 83 parents. Data collection tools included the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (OCI-CV), the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale for Children—Parent Report, the Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire, and the Thought-Action Fusion Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis in SPSS-26.

Findings: The results indicated a significant negative correlation between parental reports of OCD symptoms and the quality of the parent-child relationship (r = -0.27, p = 0.041), suggesting that higher parental reports of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were associated with a more dysfunctional parent-child relationship. Regression analysis revealed that parental reports of OCD symptoms significantly predicted the parent-child relationship structure (B = -0.08, p = 0.02), whereas thought-action fusion did not emerge as a significant predictor (B = 0.07, p = 0.06). The two predictor variables accounted for 11% of the variance in the parent-child relationship structure (R² = 0.11).

Conclusion: The findings highlight the significant role of parental perceptions in shaping the parent-child relationship in adolescents with OCD. Higher parental reports of their children's symptoms were associated with poorer relational dynamics, emphasizing the need for family-based interventions that address parental responses to OCD symptoms and promote adaptive communication patterns.