FAMILY ACCOMMODATION, CAREGIVER BURDEN AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN FAMILY MEMBERS OF PATIENTS WITH OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Psychological disorders affect the life of both patients and their family members. Family members of psychological patients play a vital part in treatment and intervention of patients suffering from psychological problems. Their support may facilitate the patient in treatment as well as on the other hand may contribute to exacerbation. However, such family members also suffer while dealing with their relatives who suffer from psychological disorders. Therefore, this study is intended to find out how family accommodation causes impairment in treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, to measure the burden of care (in terms of six dimensions i.e., financial burden, disruption of family routine, disruption of family leisure, disruption of family interaction, effect on physical health of others and effect on mental health of others) and to determine the level of psychological distress in family members of OCD patients. The present correlational research was consisted of 120 family members (42 men, 78 women), who were the primary caregivers. Result of Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed a highly significant positive relationship between family accommodation, caregiver burden and psychological distress. Mediation analysis was done using PROCESS which showed that caregiver burden mediated the relationship between family accommodation and psychological distress. Family interventions regarding accommodation by family members can be provided in order to improve the patient treatment and research findings can also be implied to teach coping strategies to family members in order to deal the burden they experienced.