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The predictive utility of expressed emotion in schizophrenia: an aggregate analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Paul Bebbington  and
Liz Kuipers
Paul Bebbington*
Affiliation:
MRC Social and Community Psychiatry Unit and the Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Liz Kuipers
Affiliation:
MRC Social and Community Psychiatry Unit and the Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Paul Bebbington, MRC Social and Community Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
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Synopsis

We analysed aggregate data from 25 studies linking Expressed Emotion (EE) and schizophrenia. We had access to original data sets from 17 studies, and used published data from the remainder. This provided us with 1346 cases from around the world. The association of EE with relapse was overwhelming, and was maintained whatever the geographical location. The predictive capacity of EE was virtually identical in men and women. While high contact with a high EE relative increased the risk of relapse, the opposite was true in low EE households. Medication and EE were independently related to relapse, and thus EE status has no bearing on the decision to prescribe. Our findings were confirmed using log–linear analysis.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 1994 , pp. 707 - 718
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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An addendum has been issued for this article:

Addendum

P. Bebbington  and L. Kuipers