Journal Article

Maternal and Child Expressed Emotion as Predictors of Treatment Response in Pediatric Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

March, John S., Przeworski, Amy, Zoellner, Lori A., Freeman, Jennifer, Franklin, Martin E., Foa, Edna B., Garcia, Abbe

2012

Overview

Expressed emotion (EE) is associated with symptoms and treatment outcome in various disorders. Few studies have examined EE in pediatric OCD and none of these has assessed the child’s perspective. This study examined the relationship among maternal and child EE, child OCD severity, and OCD-related functioning pre- and post-treatment. At pre-treatment, mothers completed speech samples about the child with OCD and an unaffected sibling. Children with OCD completed speech samples about parents. There were low rates of high maternal EE (child with OCD: 16.1%; sibling: 2.6%) and high child EE about parents (mothers: 11.9%; fathers: 10.2%). High EE was primarily characterized by high criticism, not high overinvolvement. High maternal EE and child EE regarding fathers were associated with pre-treatment child OCD severity but not post-treatment severity. High child and maternal EE were predictive of post-treatment OCD-related functioning. EE may be an important child and maternal trait associated with pre-treatment OCD severity and generalization of treatment gains.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adolescent / Adult and adolescent clinical studies / Adults / Analysis of Variance / Anxiety Disorders / Anxiety disorders. Neuroses / Behavior Modification / Behavioral Science and Psychology / Biological and medical sciences / Child / Child & adolescent psychiatry / Child and School Psychology / Child Behavior Disorders - psychology / Childhood Attitudes / Children / Cognitive Therapy / Combined Modality Therapy / Compulsions / Control Groups / Correlation / Criticism / Disorders / Dropout Rate / Emotional Response / Emotions / Expressed Emotion / Expressed emotions / Families & family life / Family - psychology / Family Environment / Family Relationship / Fathers / Feedback (Response) / Female / Humans / Male / Medical sciences / Mental Disorders / Modeling (Psychology) / Mother-Child Relations / Mothers / Mothers - psychology / Neuroses / Obsessive compulsive disorder / Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis / Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology / Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy / Obsessive-compulsive disorders / Obsessive-Compulsive neuroses / Original Article / Outcomes of Treatment / Overinvolvement / Paediatrics / Parent-child relations / Parents / Parents & parenting / Pediatrics / Predictor Variables / Pretests Posttests / Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Psychiatry / Psychology / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychopathology. Psychiatry / Psychotherapy / Resistance (Psychology) / Self Report / Sertraline - therapeutic use / Severity / Severity (of Disability) / Siblings / Speech / Speech Evaluation / Symptoms (Individual Disorders)