Expressed emotion: a Swedish version of the Camberwell Family Interview

A Swedish version of the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI), a psychiatric, semistructured interview schedule for assessing a family's emotional atmosphere, is described. Thirty-two relatives of patients with schizophrenic disorders, according to DSM-III criteria, were interviewed. Eighteen relatives were interviewed twice, before and after one part of a psychoeducational programme. The total number of interviews analysed was 50. Two independent investigators rated the audiotape-recorded interviews to test the interrater reliability of 5 different measures of expressed emotion (critical remarks, hostility, emotional overinvolvement, warmth and positive remarks). High interrater reliabilities were found for the frequency scales, i.e. critical remarks and positive remarks. For the global scales the interrater reliabilities were lower. The use of only one interviewer, the interviewer being one of the raters and shortage of co-training probably influence the reliability. The CFI schedule could probably gain in clarity, structure and shortness in a revised form, although the interview time cannot be reduced to less than 1.5 h. The ratings of measures of expressed emotion are quite complicated and require extensive and specific training of the raters. The total procedure is complex, time-consuming and not easily learned. In its present form, the CFI probably discourages clinicians and researchers from using it.