Hope and coping in family members of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects approximately 2-4% of the adult population. Despite the practical and emotional demands of having a family member with OCD, few systematic attempts have been made to assess the coping strategies used by relatives of individuals with such diagnoses. In this study we examined the relationships between hope, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms in a heterogeneous sample of 67 spouses/primary caregivers of individuals with a history of OCD. In support of our hypotheses, hope was negatively related to depressive symptoms, symptom severity, and denial disengagement coping strategies, and positively related to active reframing and social support coping strategies. Active, Reframing, Social Support, and Religiosity were negatively related to depressive symptoms. Denial/Disengagement was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Coping mediated the relationship between hope and depressive symptoms. Given the importance of family members in treatment, clinical implications of these findings are discussed.