The needs of high and low expressed emotion families: a normative approach

Abstract

Comparison of the needs and characteristics of relatives classified as high and low expressed emotion (EE) across a range of measures including social functioning and indices of stress and family burden revealed that high EE relatives reported higher levels of disturbed behaviour, subjective burden, and perceived themselves as coping less effectively. Individuals from high-EE households were more impaired in terms of social functioning, particularly in terms of independence and interpersonal functioning. No difference in overall knowledge about schizophrenia was observed between high and low EE relatives, although high EE relatives possessed more information about hospital procedures. Analysis of needs assessment data, based on a normative approach to need, revealed that two-thirds of high EE relatives, as against one-third of low EE relatives had high needs in at least one or more of the following five areas: knowledge about schizophrenia, subjective burden, personal stress, behavioural disturbance and perceived coping. No low EE relative had high needs on all five criteria. The implications of the results for the meaning and genesis of EE and for service provision are considered.