Family psychopathology among parents of children with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

The present study aimed to investigate the role of family psychopathology in parents of children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in Iran. A cross-sectional two-group comparison design was employed to administer two questionnaires:(1) Socio Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ) to identify the socio-demographic variables:(2) Family Assessment Device (FAD) with 60 items and seven subscales to assess the family psychopathology.The total sample consisted of 401 parents: 209 parents with normal children and 192 parents with GAD children. The primary objective of the present study was to identify family psychopathology in parents of children with GAD. The research hypotheses discussed the significant differences between the two groups regarding their family psychopathology and associated variables. Later, the data collected were subjected to statistical techniques such as General Linear Model-Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The results revealed significant differences in family psychopathology and some associated variables between the groups. In addition, the differences between the groups were shown to be influenced by some socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. These findings, while being consistent with results obtained by other research, further support the hypothesis that GAD could be viewed as a familial disorder.