The influence of family expressed emotion on the course of schizophrenia in a sample of Spanish patients. A two-year follow-up study.
A sample of 60 Spanish schizophrenic patients was studied to ascertain the relationship between their relatives' expressed emotion (EE) and relapse at follow-up. The relatives' EE and patients' relapse were operationalised following Leff & Vaughn's criteria. At nine months a significant association was not found between the relatives' EE and relapse, but this association became significant on reclassifying the relatives' EE scores after decreasing to four points the cut-off point for critical comments. At 24 months no association was found between EE and relapse. There was a tendency for patients who interrupted their medication or who did not work to relapse more frequently, particularly among the high-EE group.
Montero
I
I
Department of Psychiatry, University of Valencia, Spain.
Gómez-Beneyto
M
M
Ruiz
I
I
Puche
E
E
Adam
A
A
D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004644:Emotions; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012008:Recurrence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D013030:Spain