Controllability perceptions and reactions to symptoms of schizophrenia: A within-family comparison of relatives with high and low expressed emotion

In a sample of 35 family members of patients with recent-onset schizophreni a, attributions of control and the content of critical comments were compar ed for 2 relatives of the same household who held discrepant expressed emot ion (EE) attitudes (1 high and 1 low) toward their mentally ill family memb er. Attributions and the content of critical comments were also compared fo r low-EE relatives from low-EE homes versus low-EE relatives from high-EE h omes. Our results indicate that high-EE relatives tend to attribute more co ntrol over behavior to patients than do low-BE relatives of the same patien t. In addition, low-EE relatives from high-EE homes attribute more behavior al control to patients than do low-EE relatives from low-EE homes. These fi ndings suggest that EE status is linked to attributions of control over beh aviors, but additional patient factors or influences among family members m ay also affect EE attitudes.