Expressed emotion, family burden, and quality of life in parents with schizophrenic children

In a study of 20 parents of 14 patients with schizophrenia, subjective and objective family burden, expressed emotion, and quality of life were studied. Different kinds of subjective and objective burden were common among the parents. Almost all were worried about what the future would hold for their sick child. High expressed emotion was apparent among 44% of the parents; 25% fulfilled the criterion of high emotional overinvolvement, and 31% scored high on critical comments. The parents with high expressed emotion and those who rated high on critical comments more often perceived a low quality of life compared with those with low expressed emotion or who rated low on critical comments. High expressed emotion has so far mostly been focused on because of the risk of relapse in the schizophrenic syndrome, but this study indicates that it also may have influence on the well-being of the parents.