Expressed emotion

• This explanation is based on relapse in patients with schizophrenia
• The family variable associated with SZ is a negative emotional climate, or more generally a high degree of expressed emotion
• Expressed emotion is a family communication style
• Elements of expressed emotion:

  • Verbal criticism - of the patient in both tone and comment, occasionally accompanied by violence
  • Hostility - towards the patient, including anger and rejection
  • Emotional over involement - in the life of the patient, needless self sacrifice
• If elements of expressed emotion are high, then risk of relapse is high
• People with SZ have a lower tolerance for intense environmental stimuli, especially intense emotional comments and interactions with family members
• Negative emotional climate in families leaf to stress beyond a persons already impairing coping mechanisms, thus triggering a schizophrenic episode
• AO3 - Brown

  Families where expressed emotion feels were high resulted in 58% of people with SZ returning to the hospital for further treatment compared to only 10% of those in low expressed emotion families

  However, it could be that difficult behaviour from the sufferer influences the family behaviour patterns instead