Paternal psychopathology among children with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to identify the role of psychopathology and family functioning among fathers of children with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). A total of 198 fathers (including 95 fathers of children with GAD and 103 fathers of normal children) completed two questionnaires: i) Socio-demographic Questionnaire; ii) Family assessment device. Results show that there are significant differences between the fathers of both groups on the subscales of affective responsiveness, behaviour control and general function (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between two groups on dimensions of problem-solving, communication, roles and affective involvement (P > 0.05). On the whole, the study showed that GAD is associated with some degrees of paternal psychopathology and family dysfunction. These results support findings of other psychopathological research studies that revealed GAD is a moderately familial disorder.

Keywords: Psychopathology, children, generalised anxiety disorder.