| Popis: |
Although the aetiology of schizophrenia continues to puzzle clinicians and researchers alike, enough is now known about the precipitants of relapse in a patient with an established schizophrenic illness to suggest that he is highly responsive to his social environment. Of particular interest is a series of studies carried out by George Brown and his colleagues concerning the influence of family life on the course of a schizophrenic illness. In the most recent study (Brown et al., 1972) a standardised method was used to assess the quality of the emotional relationship between a schizophrenic patient and the relative with whom he lives. The authors found that they could predict relapse of schizophrenia during a nine months period following discharge by using an index of the expressed emotion (EE) shown by the relative during an interview shortly after the patient was admitted to hospital. This index of expressed emotion had three components, the most important of which was the number of critical comments made by the relative when talking about the patient and his illness. Additional measures of EE were hostility, which rarely occurred in the absence of high criticism, and marked emotional over-involvement.* |
