Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the positive aspects of caregiving in caregivers of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in a general hospital setting. Additionally, the study aimed to evaluate the association of positive aspects of caregiving with social support, coping and, quality of life of caregivers. 100 primary caregivers of patients with OCD were assessed on Scale for Positive Aspects of Caregiving Experience (SPACE), Duke–UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ), Coping Check List, PGI Health Questionnaire–N2 version, Revised Family Accommodation Scale (FAS) General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), World Health Organization Quality of life (WHOQOL)- Bref version. On SPACE, the maximum score was obtained for the domain of motivation for the caregiving role (2.56), followed by the domains of caregiving personal gains (2.11) and caregiver satisfaction (2.11) and least score was obtained for the domain of self-esteem and social aspects of caring (1.62). Higher positive caregiving experience was associated with lower amount of time spent per day in caregiving, being in caregiver role for shorter duration, having other family members to support in caregiving, better social support, lower level of neuroticism, higher use of adaptive copings such as problem focused and seeking social support, higher use of collusion as coping, lower level of accommodation and better quality of life. To conclude, the present study suggests positive caregiving experiences of caregivers of patients with OCD is significantly influenced by the time spent per day in caregiving, duration of being in the caregiver role and higher use of adaptive coping mechanisms like problem solving and seeking social support.