CRITICAL COMMENTS MADE TO SCHIZOPHRENIC-PATIENTS BY THEIR FAMILIES INJAPAN

Critical comments (CCs) are one of the components of expressed emotion (EE), an excess of which is related to relapse. Therefore, CCs could be a target of family psychoeducation. We examined the nature of CCs f or clues to family therapy, We classified CCs expressed in the Camberw ell Family Interview (CFI) into nine categories: (1) positive symptoms , (2) negative symptoms, (3) compliance with medical care, (4) life pr oblems, (5) socially inappropriate behavior, (6) aggression, (7) rejec tion, (8) premorbid personality, and (9) other. Positive symptoms were the most frequently commented on (34%), Negative symptoms were not so frequently commented on (11%), as expected. In comparing high-EE and low-EE relatives or relapsers and nonrelapsers, there were no signific ant differences in the distribution of the nine CC categories. We conc lude that positive symptoms should be a main topic of family psychoedu cation in such cases. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saunders Company.