Confirmatory and disconfirmatory feedback in families of schizophrenics, pathological controls and normals:...

The question of whether or not there are types of family communication specific to schizophrenia was addressed by a replication of a previous study and expanding the material. The interaction between parents of schizophrenics (S) (n = 17), non-schizophrenic pathological controls (NS) (n = 15) and normals (N) (n = 14) was observed during consensus couple Rorschach. Their communication was analyzed by a newly developed revised edition of the Confirmation and Disconfirmation Coding System, CONDIS-R. Studies of intrarater agreement and split-half estimates supported the reliability of CONDIS-R. The results showed that S had more egocentric communication and active disqualifications than NS and N. S were also less likely to communicate that they kept track of and understood the other spouse's communication.