evaluation of expressed emotion

• its been difficult to establish whether EE is a direct cause of schizophrenia since research seems to point out that it's a more likely predictor of relapse in symptoms than the cause of the initial onset
• EE may just be a consequence of having schizophrenic relative family - it's likely to be difficult to live with someone with schizophrenia and as stress levels increase, communication can become more emotionally charged. this weaken the value of EE as a cause of schizophrenia
• research into EE has led to the development of useful practical applications in reducing relapse rates

  • HOGARTY (1991) produced a type of therapy session, which reduced social conflict between parents and their children, which reduced EE and thus relapse rates.