Family Accommodation of OCD and Anxiety Symptoms Across the Lifespan

Family accommodation (FA), efforts to help a loved one avoid anxiety-provoking situations, may reduce distress in the moment, but it has been demonstrated that FA exacerbates anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms over time in both child and adult samples. However, explicit focus on the role of FA across the lifespan is limited, especially for individuals receiving intensive treatment. The current sample included youth (N = 67) and adults (N = 131) ranging in age from 8-76 years, who received intensive and / or residential treatment (IRT) for OC-related or another anxiety disorder at the same hospital. Patients and their family members completed measures of FA and current symptoms at admission and discharge. FA was consistently high across the lifespan: 100% of children and / or their parents and 95% of adults and / or loved ones reporting some form of FA. FA was more frequent among children: 60% of parents reported daily reassurance compared to 24% of family members of adults. Finally, FA at admission was associated with more severe symptoms at admission but did not predict improvement by discharge among both child and adult populations. Our results suggest that FA is pervasive and may persist throughout the lifespan but also can be addressed effectively in intensive treatment so that it does not impede treatment outcomes.