Ethnicity, expressed emotion, and schizophrenia patients' perceptions of their family members' criticism

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2006 Sep;194(9):644-9. doi: 10.1097/01.nmd.0000235504.39284.f1.

Abstract

Expressed emotion is a widely researched construct. However, less is known about patients' own perceptions of their relatives' expressed emotion. Using a sample of 42 patient/family member dyads with schizophrenia, we examined the concordance between the number of criticisms expressed by relatives during the Camberwell Family Interview and patients' perceptions of how critical they perceived their relative to be. As predicted, white and Latino family members who expressed more criticism during the Camberwell Family Interview were indeed perceived as more critical by patients. Among blacks, however, no significant association was found between relatives' expressed criticism and patients' perceptions of their relatives' criticism. Findings from this study suggest that cultural/ethnic values may influence how criticism from relatives is perceived and experienced by patients.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Black People / psychology
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Ethnicity / psychology*
  • Expressed Emotion*
  • Family Health / ethnology
  • Family* / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Psychotic Disorders / diagnosis
  • Psychotic Disorders / psychology
  • Schizophrenia / diagnosis*
  • Schizophrenic Psychology
  • Social Perception*