Maternal Obsessive - Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety in Children

The present study examined the effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) on maternal obsessive-compulsive symptoms and child anxiety. A sample of 217 mothers of primary school children completed the Maud- sley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI; Rachman & Hodgson, 1980), Nilipour Obsessive-Compulsive Inven- tory (NOCI; Nilipour, 2000) and Ontario Child Health Scale (Boyle et al., 1993). Based on the highest scores in MOCI and NOCI scores and on DSM-IV diagnostic inter- views, thirty two mothers were randomly assigned to an experimental and witness groups equally. The experimental group received 8 sessions of 90-minute CBT. The witness group received none. MANCOVA revealed significantly lower mean scores in symptoms of OCD (p=0.00) among mothers after receiving treatment. Inspite of, Mothers’ obsession and children’s anxiety were correlated, the tre- atment of mothers did not improve children’s level of an- xiety. A follow-up test conducted a month later did not re- veal a change in maternal OCD scores and child anxiety.