Determinants of expressed emotion in mothers of schizophrenia patients

Suzanne King1, Nicole Ricard, Vicky Rochon

  • 1McGill University & Douglas Hospital Research Center, 6875 LaSalle Blvd., Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3. suzanne.king@douglas.mcgill.ca

Psychiatry Research
|April 11, 2003
PubMed

Our objectives were to determine the extent to which symptoms in the schizophrenia patient and personality in the mother lead to a sense of subjective burden in the mother, and to explain variance in two components of Expressed Emotion. Data on symptom severity (PANSS), mothers' personality (NEO-PI), subjective burden (SBAS), and Expressed Emotion (CFI) were gathered from 41 schizophrenia outpatients and their mothers. Approximately one quarter of the variance in Critical Comments (CCs) and Emotional Overinvolvement (EOI) was explained using path analysis. Mothers' CCs were associated with more severe excitement in the patient, with lower Neuroticism, and greater burden in the mother. Higher EOI was explained by greater Conscientiousness and burden in the mother; patient depression had a weak indirect effect on maternal EOI. These results characterize the high EE mother as low in neuroticism and high in conscientiousness with a particular sensitivity to excitement and depression in the patient.

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