Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between family-expressed emotion (FEE) and schizophrenia relapse rate (SRR). Method: The study was descriptive-correlational. The population was the families of patients with schizophrenia admitted to Taft Comprehensive Psychiatric Center in 2017. The study was conducted with the participation of patients and their relatives through a questionnaire on socio-demographic and clinical variables, Family Questionnaire (FQ) and five-minute speech sample FMSS interview. Data was analyzed in SPSS 22 and descriptive and inferential statistics such as regression, t-test and chi-square test. Results: The results showed a significant relationship between relapse and FEE and both its dimensions. Moreover, emotional criticism and involvement were significant predictors of relapse in patients. The more the emotion expressed in family members, the more frequent relapses are seen among the patients. However, the relationship between the expressed emotion and the frequency of relapses was not affected by the gender of the family members or their relation to the patient. Accordingly, it was concluded that no matter which family member (in terms of relation to the patient and gender) expresses criticism of the patient or becomes emotionally involved with the patient, the rate of relapse increases. In addition, more educated family members express less emotion about their patient because of their greater awareness. Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between the levels of emotion expressed and its components (critical messages and Emotional Overinvolvement (EOI)) and disease relapse. © 2019 by Advance Scientific Research.