Tl. Simoneau et al., EXPRESSED EMOTION AND INTERACTIONAL PATTERNS IN THE FAMILIES OF BIPOLAR PATIENTS, Journal of abnormal psychology, 107(3), 1998, pp. 497-507
The predictive validity of expressed emotion (EE) may derive in part f
rom its relationship to important interactional processes in families
of patients with major psychiatric disorders. The authors examined the
relationship between relatives' EE attitudes, assessed during patient
s' bipolar, manic, or mixed episodes, and the interactional behavior o
f bipolar patients (n = 48) and their relatives as revealed in problem
-solving discussions during the postepisode period. High-EE relatives
were more verbally negative than low-EE relatives in these discussions
. Patients from high-EE families were more nonverbally negative than t
hose from low-EE families, whereas patients from low-EE families were
more nonverbally positive than those from high-EE families. Sequential
analyses revealed that high-EE families engage in negative interchang
es of up to 3 volleys. Thus, levels of EE are associated with stressfu
l patterns of interaction between bipolar patients and their relatives
during the postepisode period.