If you mum or dad have OCD then there is a good chance you will develop OCD. But what are the odds?
It turns out that if a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) has OCD this gives you somewhere in the range of 3–12 times more risk than the general population of developing OCD (Pauls et al. 1995; Nestadt et al. 2000; Hanna et al. 2002).
The good news is that mother-in-laws are not first-degree relatives.
References Pauls DL, Alsobrook JP 2nd, Goodman W, Rasmussen S, Leckman JF (1995). A family study of obsessive–compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 152, 76–84. Nestadt G, Samuels J, Riddle M, Bienvenu OJ 3rd, Liang KY, LaBuda M, Walkup J, Grados M, Hoehn-Saric R (2000). A family study of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry 57, 358–363. Hanna GL, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Cox NJ, Boehnke M, Himle JA, Curtis GC, Leventhal BL, Cook EH Jr. (2002). Genome-wide linkage analysis of families with obsessive–compulsive disorder ascertained through pediatric probands. American Journal of Medical Genetics 114, 541–552. Image Reference By Diacritica - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12242533
Disclaimer: This content is not intended to provide medical or mental health advice. It is intended to stimulate an increased understanding of OCD. The content may not be accurate or express the views of the journal article authors.