FAMILY RISK INDICATORS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

The literature is reviewed on three family risk indicators that have p rognostic significance in schizophrenia: expressed emotion, affective style, and communication deviance, each measured in key relatives of s chizophrenia patients. Expressed emotion and affective style have been used primarily to characterize family environments that predispose pa tients to psychotic relapses. Communication deviance has been used pri marily to distinguish the communication styles of families of schizoph renia patients from those of families without schizophrenia. Data on t he roles of genetic, biological, and psychosocial factors in the origi ns of these family attributes are reviewed. Although studies of family risk indicators have yielded relatively consistent cross-sectional an d longitudinal findings, much remains to be clarified about what these constructs actually measure and their mechanisms of prediction. The i mplications of family risk research for prevention efforts are discuss ed.