Gender differences in family attitudes about schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Expressed emotion (EE) is a predictor of relapse in schizophrenia.
• Previous research indicated EE's prognostic value, but recent studies question this for female patients.
• This study investigates gender differences in EE among relatives of recent-onset schizophrenia patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if affective attitudes and behaviors of relatives vary by patient gender.
• To compare EE measures (Camberwell Family Interview, Five Minute Speech Sample, Affective Style) between male and female schizophrenia patient groups.
• To explore the relationship between patient symptomatology and relatives' EE.

Main Methods:

• Assessed relatives of 110 recent-onset schizophrenia patients using Camberwell Family Interview (CFI-EE), Five Minute Speech Sample Method (FMSS-EE), and Affective Style (AS).
• Analyzed patient symptomatology using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) during in-patient and out-patient periods.
• Compared EE measures and their subcomponents based on patient gender.

Main Results:

• No significant gender differences were found for CFI-EE or FMSS-EE overall.
• Relatives of male patients received more harsh criticism on FMSS subcomponents and AS measures compared to relatives of female patients.
• Relatives of male patients showed greater consistency across EE measures than relatives of female patients.
• Patient gender variations in symptomatology changes may correlate with relatives' affective attitudes.

Conclusions:

• EE may manifest differently based on patient gender, contrary to some prior assumptions.
• Male schizophrenia patients appear to experience higher levels of criticism from relatives.
• Gender-specific approaches may be necessary when assessing and intervening with families of schizophrenia patients.