Abstract
In this paper is illustrated a study of family Expressed Emotion (EE) in a sample of 201 patients affected by various chronic organic diseases (heart attack, patients in haemodialysis, with kidney transplantation, epilepsy, women with breast cancer and patients who had undergone bone marrow transplantation for leukaemia and lymphomas). Data were compared also with 55 family with a schizophrenic member. Emotional overinvolvement shows an even distribution of mean values for all illness, but reaches higher scores in dialysis and bone marrow transplantation. Critical and hostile attitude are particularly present in the family of schizophrenics and epileptics while these components are never present in the families with cancer patients. Warmth is expressed to a greater extent in cancer and dialysis patients while it decreased drastically in the schizophrenics' family. The correlation between EE and psychological variables of patients are examined with great attention for the family with a cancer patient. A paradigmatic model of systemic family therapy in organic diseases is illustrated.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 135-145 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | New Trends in Experimental and Clinical Psychiatry |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- cancer
- family expressed emotion
- family therapy
- organic disease
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health