EXPRESSED EMOTION
Qualitative measure of the amount of emotion displayed within the family setting
measured using Camberwell Family Interview or the Five Minute Speech Sample
theory proposes that high levels of EE in the home is a source of stress in the environment that can trigger sz in those already vulnerable, increase likelihood of relapse and readmission into hospital
Hostility
negative attitude directed at patient
family feels as though disorder is controllable and patient is choosing not to get better
family problems are blamed on patient
Emotional over involvement
family members blame themselves for the mental illness
found in females
makes the patient feel guilty, pity causes stress and patient will relapse trying to cope with the pity
Critical comments
combination of hostile and emotional over-involvement
openness that the disorder isnt entirely the patients control but there is negative critissm
leads onto siblings attitudes
Evaluation point 1
answer to questions and non-verbal cues are used to determine if someone has high EE
relative is also asked to speak about patient for 5 uninterupted minutes
supported by evidence
patients returning home to high EE are 4x more likely to relapse than patients with a low EE family
suggesting high EE must play a role in relapse of sz
Evaluation point 2
further supporting evidence
conducted a 9month follow-up study looking at sz patients who return home to high or low EE families, low EE had 10% relapse, compared to 58% high EE relapse
clearly suggests high EE poses a risk of relapse, however only 58% so maybe another role?
a positive is that the study was conducted over a long period of time, therefore the results are likely to be representative picture of the role EE plays in sz
Evaluation point 3
research is only correlational
cannot draw cause and effect
cannot be sure high EE is causing sz, could be living with individual causes families to display high EE due to stress
Evaluation point 4
evidence to support issue of cause and effect
high EE is less common in the families of first-episode patients than in those families where the patient has had frequent relapses, high EE may be a result of living with a sz rather than a cause as families of first-episode patients show less EE, maybe due to them not experiencing the stress of living with an individual who relapses
weakening effectiveness of explanation as we cannot be fully sure of the role of EE in sz
Evaluation point 5
benefited society as an explanation, leading to effective therapy
families who express high EE are taught how to reduce levels of EE, therapies reduce relapse rates
individual and family members will have a better quality of life, success of therapy is also sugesting high levels of EE must play a role in causes relapse as rates of relapse are reduced when relatives were taught how to reduce EE rates