Expressed emotion in the narrative context of family photographs

Author(s): Aaltonen, J.

Journal/Book: Contemp Fam Ther. 1998; 20: 233 Spring St, New York, NY 10013-1578. Human Sci Press Inc. 291-314.

Abstract: This study aims to elucidate cognitive and contextual aspects of the EE (Expressed Emotion) concept. The EE levels of both parents of two first admission psychotic patients were rated from the Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS), and the emotional responses were further analyzed in narratives of family photographs. The attribution model was found to provide an explanatory framework for understanding relatives' expressed emotions (EE) toward a family member suffering from psychotic disturbances. Four case reports indicated that family photographs induced parents to create narratives in which emotions, attributions, and strategies for coping with stressful aspects of the illness came forward as intertwined phenomena. The method can offer more comprehensive data for intervention strategies aiming to alter the prevailing atmosphere and interaction patterns within the high EE family.

Note: Article Pulkkinen ML, Univ Jyvaskyla, Dept Psychol, POB 35, SF-40351 Jyvaskyla, FINLAND

Keyword(s): acute psychosis; expressed emotion; family photographs; the five minute speech sample; narrative analysis; RECENT ONSET SCHIZOPHRENICS; TRANSACTIONAL PROCESS; RELATIVES; INDEX; STYLE; LIFE

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