Poster #59 - Maternal and Child’ Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: Single and Double Mediation Models in a Heathy Community Sample

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Evidence supporting the genetic predisposition of obsessive–compulsive disorder -OCD- is quite consistent (e.g., Mataix-Cols et al., 2013; Taylor, 2013) but, unfortunately, the same cannot be stated for that on environmental factors that might serve as aetiological and/or maintenance conditions, especially in paediatric OCD (Brander et al., 2016; Murphy & Flessner, 2015 for reviews). Although many aspects of adverse family functioning have been targeted (e.g., parental styles and symptoms), the state of art of the literature suffers from a few gaps: most studies use retrospective designs, thus rely on adults’ recollections and/or biases relating to early learning experiences with parents. Secondly, many aspects of at-risk parenting, such as parental stress (Deater-Deckard, 2017) have been ignored. Thirdly, the role of parental OC symptoms as a possible predisposing condition for child’s OCD has received little attention.
The study attempt to fill these gaps: by integrating expectations from cognitive-behavioral and developmental psychopathology perspectives, it aims to test whether OC symptoms might expose mothers to experience stress in caregiving the child, which in turn might increase child’s onset of OC symptoms. Secondly, building on existing findings (e.g., Timpano et al., 2010), it aims to test a double mediation model in which maternal OC symptoms affect child’s symptoms through sequential effects of parental stress and control.
119 mother-child healthy dyads (child: M age=11 years, SD=.99; mother: M age=41.66, SD=4.68; M years of education=11, SD=3.6) were recruited in local schools. Children completed the Obsessive-Compulsive Subscale, from the Psychiatric Self-Administration Scales for Youths/Adolescents (Cianchetti & Sannio Fancello 2001) and the Parental Control Scale –Mother’s version (Rohner & Abdul Khaleque, 2012). Mothers completed the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-R (Sica et al., 2009) and the Parental Stress Index-SF (Abidin, 1995).
Simple mediations (aim 1) and double mediations (aim 2) were tested with models #4 and #6 of SPSS macro PROCESS (Hayes, 2013). Simple mediation models included: each maternal OC dimension as IV; parental stress as Mediator#1 and children’s OC symptoms as DV. Double mediations included additionally maternal control as Mediator#2. Child’s age, mothers’ age and education were treated as covariates in all models. As to aim 1, results in Table 1 show that parental stress mediated the impact of all but two of mothers’ OC dimensions on child’s symptoms. As to aim 2, results support a partial double mediation, b double indirect effect = .027, Bootstrap SE=.016, Bootstrap C.I [.006-.074]. Bs for all paths of the double mediation model are reported in Figure 1.
These findings suggest that some OC dimensions, more than others, might be risk factors for parenting, as they increase stress in managing the child, which, in turn, predicts the child’s onset of OC symptoms. Particularly, compulsive hoarding increases parental stress and leads mothers to exert more control on their children, who become more vulnerable to develop OC symptoms. Limitations related to the concurrent design and non-clinical sample and implication for intervention focusing on mother-child dyads will be discussed, together with future directions of research addressing the means through which parental stress increases children’s risk for OC symptoms.

Authors

• Alessandro Costantini, University of Bari Aldo Moro
  Presenting Author

• Gabrielle Coppola, University of Bari Aldo Moro
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rosalinda Cassibba, University of Bari Aldo Moro
  Non-Presenting Author

• Domenico Piazzolla, University of Bari Aldo Moro
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maria Grazia Foschino Barbaro, Paediatric Hospital Giovanni XXIII
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marvita Goffredo, Paediatric Hospital Giovanni XXIII
  Non-Presenting Author