Family dysfunction

• What is family dysfunction?

  Abnormal processes within a family such as poor family communication, cold parenting and high levels of expressed emotion.
• The schizophrenogenic mother:

  Fromm-Reichmann noted that many of her clients spoke of a particular type of parent, which she called the schizophrenogenic mother. The schizophrenogenic mother is cold, rejecting and controlling, and tends to create a family climate characterised by tension and secrecy. This leads to distrust that later develops into paranoid delusions, and ultimately schizophrenia.
• Double-bind theory:

  Bateson et al. (1972) emphasised the role of communication style within a family. The developing child regularly finds themselves trapped in situations where they fear doing the wrong thing, but received mixed messages about what this is. When they 'get it wrong' the child is punished by withdrawal of love. This leaves them with an understanding of the world as dangerous and confusing, and this is reflected in symptoms like disorganised thinking and paranoid delusions.
• Expressed emotion and schizophrenia:

  Expressed emotion is the level of emption, particularly negative emotion, expressed towards a person with schizophrenia by their carers. This includes several elements: verbal criticism of the person, hostility towards the person and emotional over-involvement in the life of the person. These high levels of expressed emotion in carers directed towards the person are a serious source of stress for the patient.