“I can’t stop thinking about my child's flaws”: An investigation of parental preoccupation with their children's perceived flaws

Parent-child obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms involve obsessive preoccupation on perceived flaws in one's child. Such preoccupation is often accompanied by compulsive behaviors aimed at alleviating the resulting distress. Parent-child OC symptoms can be construed as an additional presentation of Relationship Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (ROCD), a presentation of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in which symptoms are centered on a significant other. In this study, a self-report scale for assessing parent-child ROCD symptoms (the PROCSI-PC) was created on the bases of an existing partner-focused ROCD scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis conducted on a sample of 350 parents supported a five factor solution of the PROCSI-PC corresponding to five perceived-flaw domains: appearance, intelligence, competence, morality, and sociability-stability. The PROCSI-PC total score was associated with parental OCD and mood symptoms, and with parental stress. Moreover, the PROCSI-PC was associated with greater depression above and beyond the effect of parental OCD symptoms, and with greater parental stress above and beyond the effects of OCD symptoms and depression. Finally, the PROCSI-PC was linked to self-reported disability resulting from obsessive preoccupation of parents on their child's perceived flaws. The results indicate the parent-child OC symptoms may be a prevalent source of unique distress that is especially challenging for parents.