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The Influence of Family Expressed Emotion on the Course of Schizophrenia in a Sample of Spanish Patients

A Two-Year Follow-Up Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

I. Montero*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Valencia
M. Gómez-Beneyto
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Valencia
I. Ruiz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Valencia
E. Puche
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Valencia
A. Adam
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit of the General Hospital of Alcoi (Alicante)
*
Departamento de Psiquiatria, Facultad de Medicina, Blasco Ibañez, 17, 46010 Valencia, Spain

Abstract

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.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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