Marital adjustment in spouses of the patient with obsessive compulsive disorder

Abstract

Background: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) creates challenges for both patients and their family system and affects several areas of life. This is a long-lived disorder that affects about 2.3% of the general population. Marital relationship is the foundation of family life due to the union between a male and a female as husband and wife but the presence of OCD hamper the smooth and usual functioning of marital life adjustment.  Aim: The present study aims to assess the marital adjustment of the spouses of a patient with obsessive compulsive disorder. Materials and Method: The study included a total of thirty-three patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder along with their spouses. Participants were recruited from OPD/IPD, at the Institute of Mental Health, Pt. B D Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana. This study was a cross-sectional hospital-based research. The severity of symptoms was assessed by Yale Brown’s obsessive-compulsive scale, and a Marital Adjustment questionnaire was used for assessing marital life, Written informed consent was taken from the participants before starting the information gathering. The socio-demographic profile of the patient and their spouse were recorded on a self-designed proforma for the study. Results: Only one (33.3%) male and two third (66.7%) female individuals participated in the study. The Y-BOCS score indicated that most of the participants suffered from severe levels of symptoms 45.5%, and only 3.0% of participants were living with extreme levels. The mean value of the overall Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (MAQ) score was 31.00 indicative of poor marital adjustment among the participants. Conclusion: Both male and female spouses have significant deterioration in marital adjustment.

Keywords:  Obsessive compulsive disorder, spouses, marital adjustment