The impact of fathers on children with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to increase knowledge about the inter-relationship between parenting and obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. More specifically, this study sets out to understand the impact or influence of fathers on children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This study further examines the changing roles of fathers and the impact these have on their children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In an attempt to gain new insights into the father-child relationship, I have placed an emphasis on both risk and protective factors. That is, the study examines the lived experience of these fathers encompassing their interpretation of their children's obsessions and compulsions as well as their response to same, which has further consequences for themselves and their children. I was also the intent of this study to move away from "blaming" the parent or the child and instead, to examine the transactional nature of the emergence and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder.