Family accommodation and empathic responses to persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms: The moderating effect of consideration of future consequences

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough families’ empathic responses can lead to family accommodation, the association between empathic responses to patients and accommodation remains to be examined quantitatively. Therefore, we examined the relationship between families’ empathic responses (empathic concern, personal distress, and perspective-taking) toward persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms and, accommodation. Further, we examined whether consideration of future consequences moderated the association between these factors. MethodsSixty-nine families (mean age = 53.34 ± 11.75 years, 72% women) including persons with obsessive-compulsive symptoms completed several questionnaires assessing empathic responses, family accommodation, and consideration of future consequences. ResultsResults indicated that personal distress did not significantly predict accommodation; however, analyses showed that consideration of future consequences moderated the relationships between perspective-taking and accommodation (β = −0.78, p < .05). Among those low on consideration of future consequences, perspective-taking significantly positively affected accommodation (β = 0.59, p < .05). DiscussionWhen professionals help decrease accommodation in families with low consideration of future consequences, it may be effective to incorporate self-regulation strategies. Although this study provided key insights into the relationship between families’ empathic responses and accommodation, and the moderating effect of consideration of future consequences, a replication study is needed because of the relatively small sample size.