Perceived upbringing and its relation to treatment outcome in agoraphobia

Agoraphobic patients tend to retrospectively report their parents as more rejecting and less warm than controls. Previous research indicates that such a negative rearing history may be associated with negative outcome in behavioural treatment. It has been suggested that the detrimental effect of an unfavourable parental rearing history on outcome of behaviour therapy is mediated by a negative view of the patients on behaviour therapists and their therapeutic style. To investigate these hypotheses, data of 76 patients were analysed who participated in a comparative outcome study of treatments for panic disorder with agoraphobia. The results using correlational analyses revealed neither an association between perceived parental rearing style and treatment outcome, nor between the patient's perception of the therapist and the outcome of treatment. Some significant, albeit small, associations were found between the way patients perceived their parental rearing style and their view towards the therapist. Perceived parental rejection and lack of parental favouring were slightly associated with a negative view of the therapist. The confidence in these findings is discussed with respect to the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments and with respect to the limitations of correlational analyses.