Expressed emotion and reciprocal affective relationships in families of disturbed adolescents

Relatives' expressed emotion (EE) is a known risk factor for relapse among recovering psychiatric patients. Recent research has focused on the behavioral correlates of EE, seeking better understanding of the family processes associated with this important variable. The present study used sequence analysis to explore interactions of high-EE and low-EE parent-child dyads in a sample of disturbed adolescents. High-EE mother-child interactions were characterized by bidirectional influence, and, in contrast to adolescents in low-EE dyads, adolescents in high-EE dyads had an oppositional style of responding. In Low-EE mother-child interactions, the adolescents showed more temporal consistency (stability) of affect than their high-EE counterparts. Overall, the results suggest that high-EE mother-child dyads constitute more tightly joined emotional systems than low-EE dyads. Consequently, interventions designed to reduce this connectedness might also reduce the risk of adolescent psychiatric problems.