The SCQ is a popular screener for ASDs derived from the gold-standard diagnostic interview. This study examined the validity of the SCQ in a Hispanic sample. Additionally, the mother's expressed emotion toward her child with ASD was examined. Participants included 217 Hispanic and non-Hispanic white mothers of children with and without ASDs ages 4-10. The actual diagnostic status of all children was determined using a historical review of records. ROC curve analysis yielded much lower sensitivity and specificity than the original validation study, with very little difference found between the 15 and 22 cutoffs. A cutoff score of 12 performed the best with a sensitivity of .86 and specificity of .54 in distinguishing between ASD and Non-ASD. There were no significant findings in expressed emotion between Hispanics or Whites, nor did it predict SCQ score. Limitations included a small non-Hispanic White sample. Findings of this study corroborate recent validation results.

This study investigated the impact of family factors on individual differences in the social and emotional development of children with autism and their families. Based on the modifier model hypothesis suggested by Mundy, Henderson, Inge, and Coman (2007), family factors may serve as a modifier that contributes to the variability in the phenotypic presentation of children with higher functioning autism. Results indicated that Expressed Emotion (EE) was associated with parent-reported hyperactivity and anxiety in children and adolescents. Family cohesion was associated with parent-reported aggression and depression. These results differed for typically developing and HFA children; higher EE or lower cohesion was associated with greater impairment in the HFA group and less impairment in the typically developing children. Family factors were not associated with social symptoms, indicating these effects may be more related to the development of comorbidity than to the core symptoms of autism. Expressed emotion was related meaningfully to neutral attributions on the FMSS and provided validity for the measure. Family factors were not associated with parental stress, which was not expected. Implications for clinical interventions and future directions are discussed.

This thesis explored significant other responses to CFS/ME in association with patient illness outcomes and symptom maintenance utilising a multi-method approach; a systematic review, cross-sectional, longitudinal and momentary methods were included. The review identified empirical evidence for two potential interpersonal mechanisms. The evidence suggested that significant other beliefs and responses, dyadic relationship quality, and patient outcomes associated with each mechanism were different. Dyadic belief incongruence was also highlighted as important with respect to relationship quality. Thus, potential research questions and current methodological limitations were identified; the subsequent empirical papers presented attempted to address these. The first empirical study (Chapter 3) utilised the Expressed Emotion (EE) framework to investigate the impact of critical comments and EOI; no cross-sectional associations between EE and patient outcomes were observed. A longitudinal design was also employed to examine the predictive validity of EE. Longitudinally, high critical comments predicted higher fatigue severity; further analyses indicated that depression mediated this relationship. High EOI was also predictive of higher fatigue severity at follow-up. This was the first study to examine EE within a CFS/ME sample; the longitudinal impact of high-EE upon patient outcomes suggests that it is a potentially beneficial target for future interventions. Paper 2 (Chapter 4) sought to examine the factors that might contribute to significant other EE by examining significant other illness beliefs and dyadic belief incongruence. The results indicated that significant others rated as high-EE had stronger illness models, more negative beliefs about the consequences associated with the condition, and negative emotional representations. These findings identify those beliefs that may be particularly important for high-EE within the current patient group. Overall dyadic belief incongruence was not important for EE-rating; high-EE dyads reported similar illness beliefs, whilst low-EE significant others reported more optimistic beliefs about the condition. These findings suggest that optimistic beliefs about the condition may be better for both significant other and patient outcomes. The final empirical study (Chapter 5) examined the associations between significant other negative and solicitous responses and fluctuations in patient illness outcomes on a momentary basis. The impact of significant other responses was largely transitory; changes in patient outcomes did not extend past the current momentary assessment. Negative significant other responses were associated with momentary increases in symptom severity; patient distress partially mediated this relationship. Patient-perceived solicitous responses were associated with increased activity limitation, but reduced disability reported at the same momentary assessment. These results suggest that momentary reports capture more dynamic processes than observed in traditional cross-sectional analyses. Taken together, the findings presented within this thesis provide further evidence for the impact of significant other factors on patient outcomes. The evidence for the hypothesised mechanism associated with critical EE was consistent throughout studies. However, the evidence for the role of EOI currently requires further exploration. Finally, the results suggest that the development of significant other-focussed interventions may be beneficial for both patient and significant other outcomes.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / Although meta-analytic studies support the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder, a proportion of patients drop out of treatment or fail to benefit. Research to date has explored patient- and treatment-specific predictors of poor treatment response, including comorbid depression, but has not evaluated variables related to the patient's social environment. Expressed emotion (EE), an index of critical, hostile, and overprotective attitudes expressed by a significant other toward an individual with a psychiatric or medical condition, has been found to predict psychiatric relapse and poor treatment outcome in a wide range of disorders. Because EE and a closely related construct, perceived criticism, have been shown to predict treatment outcome and course in anxiety and mood disorders, it was expected that EE and perceived criticism would also predict treatment outcome in social anxiety disorder. Forty patients undergoing 12-session group cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder completed questionnaires about their symptoms of social anxiety and depression, and levels of perceived criticism, before and after treatment. Each participant designated one significant other who was then assessed for EE using the Camberwell Family Interview, a semi-structured interview method. Results indicate that higher initial severity of social anxiety and lower levels of perceived criticism predicted treatment dropout. There was also a trend for participants with a significant other rated as high in emotional overinvolvement, one of the EE-subscales, to show less change on a composite measure of anxiety symptoms. Comorbid depression and critical EE were associated with pretreatment severity of social anxiety but not outcome. These findings add to an increasing body of literature showing that the manifestation of significant others' EE, and EE's effect on clinical outcome, can vary as a function of the identified patient's diagnosis. For socially anxious individuals, perceiving criticism in the social environment may provide an important impetus for seeking and adhering to treatment, whereas significant others' overprotective behavior may negatively impact their ability to benefit from treatment. Further research replicating these findings, clarifYing the mechanisms and developing supplemental interventions, are important future directions.

No description available.

A sizeable body of research has documented Expressed Emotion (EE) to predict clinical outcomes in various psychiatric disorders, including eating disorders. Patients’ perceptions of relative’s EE, however, were found to play an important role in the processing of EE. This study aimed to examine the level of perceived EE in adolescent binge-eating disorder (BED) and its impact on eating disorder psychopathology. Adolescents (12 – 20 years) seeking treatment for BED (n = 40) were compared to adolescents without current or lifetime eating disorder (CG; n = 40). Both groups were stratified according to age, sex, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), and socio-economic status. The Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) and the Brief Dyadic Scale of EE were administered to assess patients’ perceived maternal EE. Additionally, adolescents and mothers completed questionnaires on eating disorder and general psychopathology. On the FMSS, 37.5% of patients with BED perceived their mothers as high EE (vs. 12.5% in the CG). On the Brief Dyadic Scale of EE, patients with BED reported significantly higher levels of perceived maternal criticism, emotional overinvolvement, and lower levels of perceived warmth than controls. After controlling for the diagnosis of BED, perceived criticism and warmth, as assessed by questionnaire, significantly explained adolescents’ global eating disorder psychopathology. Negative perceptions of maternal behavior and emotional atmosphere towards the child are characteristic of adolescent BED. As documented for other eating disorders, family factors are likely to have substantial implications for the maintenance and treatment of adolescent BED.

A sizeable body of research has documented Expressed Emotion (EE) to predict clinical outcomes in various psychiatric disorders, including eating disorders. Patients’ perceptions of relative’s EE, however, were found to play an important role in the processing of EE. This study aimed to examine the level of perceived EE in adolescent binge-eating disorder (BED) and its impact on eating disorder psychopathology. Adolescents (12 – 20 years) seeking treatment for BED (n = 40) were compared to adolescents without current or lifetime eating disorder (CG; n = 40). Both groups were stratified according to age, sex, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), and socio-economic status. The Five Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) and the Brief Dyadic Scale of EE were administered to assess patients’ perceived maternal EE. Additionally, adolescents and mothers completed questionnaires on eating disorder and general psychopathology. On the FMSS, 37.5% of patients with BED perceived their mothers as high EE (vs. 12.5% in the CG). On the Brief Dyadic Scale of EE, patients with BED reported significantly higher levels of perceived maternal criticism, emotional overinvolvement, and lower levels of perceived warmth than controls. After controlling for the diagnosis of BED, perceived criticism and warmth, as assessed by questionnaire, significantly explained adolescents’ global eating disorder psychopathology. Negative perceptions of maternal behavior and emotional atmosphere towards the child are characteristic of adolescent BED. As documented for other eating disorders, family factors are likely to have substantial implications for the maintenance and treatment of adolescent BED.

O primeiro episódio psicótico (PEP) é um período marcado por uma série de mudanças na dinâmica familiar. A família tem um papel importante no processo de tratamento desses pacientes. As atitudes dos membros familiares acerca do paciente são avaliadas por meio dos níveis de Emoção Expressa (EE) e de sobrecarga familiar. Apesar da importância do papel dos cuidadores, estudos conduzidos para avaliar as relações intrafamiliares de pacientes no PEP são escassos. Este estudo observacional teve como objetivo determinar os fatores relacionados aos níveis de EE e sobrecarga de familiares de pacientes no PEP. Participaram do estudo 100 familiares e 100 pacientes em acompanhamento em um ambulatório de um hospital universitário do interior do Estado de São Paulo, no período de janeiro de 2015 a janeiro de 2016. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizados quatro instrumentos: um formulário contendo dados sociodemográficos e clínicos, o Family Questionnaire - Versão Português do Brasil (FQ-VPB) para avaliar os níveis de EE e de seus domínios Comentários Críticos (CC) e Superenvolvimento Emocional (SEE), o Inventário de Sobrecarga do Cuidador (ISC) para medir os níveis de sobrecarga dos familiares e a Medida de Adesão aos Tratamentos (MAT) para avaliar a adesão ao tratamento. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevista dirigida. Para análise utilizou-se estatística descritiva e regressão logística múltipla. O nível de significância adotado foi de 0,05. Quanto aos resultados, a maioria dos familiares (62%) foi classificada com elevado nível de EE, 63% com baixo nível de CC, 59% com elevado nível de SEE e 43% apresentaram nível moderado de sobrecarga familiar. Em relação à adesão ao tratamento, 84% dos pacientes foram considerados aderentes. Houve associação significante entre os níveis de EE, SEE e o sexo e escolaridade dos familiares, entre o vínculo com o paciente e os níveis de EE, SEE e CC, entre os níveis de sobrecarga e o diagnóstico médico e entre a idade do paciente e os níveis de CC. Além disso, houve associação significante entre os níveis de EE, SEE e CC e os níveis de sobrecarga. A análise do modelo multivariado mostrou que os anos de estudo do familiar foram considerados fatores de proteção para o desenvolvimento de níveis elevados de EE e SEE, enquanto os anos de estudo do paciente foram considerados fatores de proteção para sobrecarga moderada. Outro fator de proteção identificado foi o tipo de vínculo com o paciente, ou seja, ser pai, avós, sobrinhos, primos, tios ou colegas, representa fator de proteção para nível elevado de EE, CC e sobrecarga moderada, moderada a severa e severa. Por outro lado, familiares do sexo feminino apresentaram 4,81 vezes mais chance de apresentar nível elevado de SEE do que familiares do sexo masculino. Além disso, familiares de pacientes com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia tem 4,19 vezes mais chance de apresentar nível elevado de CC do que familiares de pacientes sem diagnóstico. Espera-se que esses resultados possam fornecer informações para elaboração de estratégias de prevenção e promoção em saúde mental que envolvam os pacientes no PEP e seus familiares / The first-episode psychosis (FEP) is a period marked by a series of changes in family dynamics. Family plays an important role in the treatment of these patients. The attitudes of family members about the patient are evaluated by the levels of Expressed Emotion (EE) and family burden. Despite the importance of the role of caregivers, conducted studies to assess the intra-family relationships of patients in the FEP are scarce. This observational study aimed to determine the factors related to EE levels and relatives to FEP patients overwhelmed. The study included 100 families and 100 patients followed up in a clinic of a university hospital in the state of São Paulo, from January 2015 to January 2016. For data collection were used four instruments: a form containing sociodemographic and clinical data; the Family Questionnaire - Brazil\'s Portuguese version (FQ-BPV) to measure the EE levels and its domains of Criticism and emotional overinvolvement (EOI); the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) to measure the overload levels of family members and the Measurement of Treatment Adherence (MTA) to evaluate adherence to treatment. The data were obtained by guided interview. For analysis, it was used descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression. The significance level was 0.05. As the results, most families (62%) were classified with high level of EE, 63% with low criticism, 59% with high level of EOI and 43% had moderate level of family burden. In relation to adherence to treatment, 84% of patients were considered adherent. There was a significant association between EE levels, EOI and the gender and education of family members, between the relationship with the patient and EE levels, EOI and criticism, between the burden levels and the medical diagnosis and between the age of the patient and criticism levels. In addition, there was a significant association between EE levels, EOI and criticism and burden levels. The analysis of the multivariate model showed that the years family study were considered protective factors for the development of high levels of EE and EOI, while the years of patient study were considered protective factors to moderate overwhelm. Another protection factor identified was the type of relationship with the patient. Having another relation with the patient, ie, being a father, grandparents, nephews, cousins, uncles or colleagues, is a protective factor for high level of EE, criticism and moderate overload, moderate to severe and severe. By contrast, female members of the family had 4.81 times more likely to have high level of EOI that those family members who were male. In addition, relatives of patients with schizophrenia has 4.19 times more likely to have high levels of criticism than relatives of patients who do not have diagnosis. It is expected that these results can provide information for developing prevention strategies and promotion on mental health involving patients in the FEP and their families

O primeiro episódio psicótico (PEP) é um período marcado por uma série de mudanças na dinâmica familiar. A família tem um papel importante no processo de tratamento desses pacientes. As atitudes dos membros familiares acerca do paciente são avaliadas por meio dos níveis de Emoção Expressa (EE) e de sobrecarga familiar. Apesar da importância do papel dos cuidadores, estudos conduzidos para avaliar as relações intrafamiliares de pacientes no PEP são escassos. Este estudo observacional teve como objetivo determinar os fatores relacionados aos níveis de EE e sobrecarga de familiares de pacientes no PEP. Participaram do estudo 100 familiares e 100 pacientes em acompanhamento em um ambulatório de um hospital universitário do interior do Estado de São Paulo, no período de janeiro de 2015 a janeiro de 2016. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizados quatro instrumentos: um formulário contendo dados sociodemográficos e clínicos, o Family Questionnaire - Versão Português do Brasil (FQ-VPB) para avaliar os níveis de EE e de seus domínios Comentários Críticos (CC) e Superenvolvimento Emocional (SEE), o Inventário de Sobrecarga do Cuidador (ISC) para medir os níveis de sobrecarga dos familiares e a Medida de Adesão aos Tratamentos (MAT) para avaliar a adesão ao tratamento. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevista dirigida. Para análise utilizou-se estatística descritiva e regressão logística múltipla. O nível de significância adotado foi de 0,05. Quanto aos resultados, a maioria dos familiares (62%) foi classificada com elevado nível de EE, 63% com baixo nível de CC, 59% com elevado nível de SEE e 43% apresentaram nível moderado de sobrecarga familiar. Em relação à adesão ao tratamento, 84% dos pacientes foram considerados aderentes. Houve associação significante entre os níveis de EE, SEE e o sexo e escolaridade dos familiares, entre o vínculo com o paciente e os níveis de EE, SEE e CC, entre os níveis de sobrecarga e o diagnóstico médico e entre a idade do paciente e os níveis de CC. Além disso, houve associação significante entre os níveis de EE, SEE e CC e os níveis de sobrecarga. A análise do modelo multivariado mostrou que os anos de estudo do familiar foram considerados fatores de proteção para o desenvolvimento de níveis elevados de EE e SEE, enquanto os anos de estudo do paciente foram considerados fatores de proteção para sobrecarga moderada. Outro fator de proteção identificado foi o tipo de vínculo com o paciente, ou seja, ser pai, avós, sobrinhos, primos, tios ou colegas, representa fator de proteção para nível elevado de EE, CC e sobrecarga moderada, moderada a severa e severa. Por outro lado, familiares do sexo feminino apresentaram 4,81 vezes mais chance de apresentar nível elevado de SEE do que familiares do sexo masculino. Além disso, familiares de pacientes com diagnóstico de esquizofrenia tem 4,19 vezes mais chance de apresentar nível elevado de CC do que familiares de pacientes sem diagnóstico. Espera-se que esses resultados possam fornecer informações para elaboração de estratégias de prevenção e promoção em saúde mental que envolvam os pacientes no PEP e seus familiares / The first-episode psychosis (FEP) is a period marked by a series of changes in family dynamics. Family plays an important role in the treatment of these patients. The attitudes of family members about the patient are evaluated by the levels of Expressed Emotion (EE) and family burden. Despite the importance of the role of caregivers, conducted studies to assess the intra-family relationships of patients in the FEP are scarce. This observational study aimed to determine the factors related to EE levels and relatives to FEP patients overwhelmed. The study included 100 families and 100 patients followed up in a clinic of a university hospital in the state of São Paulo, from January 2015 to January 2016. For data collection were used four instruments: a form containing sociodemographic and clinical data; the Family Questionnaire - Brazil\'s Portuguese version (FQ-BPV) to measure the EE levels and its domains of Criticism and emotional overinvolvement (EOI); the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) to measure the overload levels of family members and the Measurement of Treatment Adherence (MTA) to evaluate adherence to treatment. The data were obtained by guided interview. For analysis, it was used descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression. The significance level was 0.05. As the results, most families (62%) were classified with high level of EE, 63% with low criticism, 59% with high level of EOI and 43% had moderate level of family burden. In relation to adherence to treatment, 84% of patients were considered adherent. There was a significant association between EE levels, EOI and the gender and education of family members, between the relationship with the patient and EE levels, EOI and criticism, between the burden levels and the medical diagnosis and between the age of the patient and criticism levels. In addition, there was a significant association between EE levels, EOI and criticism and burden levels. The analysis of the multivariate model showed that the years family study were considered protective factors for the development of high levels of EE and EOI, while the years of patient study were considered protective factors to moderate overwhelm. Another protection factor identified was the type of relationship with the patient. Having another relation with the patient, ie, being a father, grandparents, nephews, cousins, uncles or colleagues, is a protective factor for high level of EE, criticism and moderate overload, moderate to severe and severe. By contrast, female members of the family had 4.81 times more likely to have high level of EOI that those family members who were male. In addition, relatives of patients with schizophrenia has 4.19 times more likely to have high levels of criticism than relatives of patients who do not have diagnosis. It is expected that these results can provide information for developing prevention strategies and promotion on mental health involving patients in the FEP and their families

Research indicates that certain family environments can impact negatively on psychosis. Expressed Emotion (EE) in relatives is a reliable measure of the individual’s interpersonal family environment that has been shown to predict relapse. However, the factors contributing to the development of EE in this condition and the mechanisms by which EE leads to relapse are still poorly understood. Relatives’ control attributions and behaviours have been linked to EE, and controlling behaviours have been found to be predictive of relapse. This thesis investigated the role of behavioural control, controllability and self-blame attributions in high- and low-EE relatives of individuals with psychosis, and explored the impact of these cognitions and behavioural responses on patient’s symptom outcomes and on relative’s distress. The first empirical study (Study 1) utilised a cross-sectional design to compare types of behavioural control attempts (direct influencing vs. buffering) in high-EE-critical/hostile and high-EE-overinvolved relatives of patients with recent-onset psychosis; and examined whether behavioural control attempts and controllability attributions differed for the high- and low-EE relatives. The links between relatives’ behavioural control and patient relapse were also explored. Results confirmed that types of behaviours (direct influencing and buffering) were associated with different sets of beliefs (about controllability) and with different types of EE (criticism and EOI). However, EE, controllability attributions, nor behavioural control predicted patient relapse. Study 2 used a cross-sectional design to explore the links between self-blame attributions and distress, and self-blame attributions and behavioural control in recent-onset relatives. Results showed that self-blame attributions predicted relatives’ controlling behaviours towards the patient. Relatives who blame themselves did so for not overseeing their family member’s mental health problems properly or for perceiving themselves generally as poor carers. However, self-blame was not predictive of distress. The final empirical study (Study 3) examined temporal associations between contact with high/low EE relatives, behavioural control, affect and symptom experiences in the daily life of patient-relative dyads experiencing psychosis, using experience sampling methodology. Findings revealed that contact with high/low-EE relatives per se did not impact on patient’s symptom experiences or affect, but behaviourally controlling interactions did, suggesting that the measure of behavioural interactions rather than the EE status of the relative may be more sensitive to momentary fluctuations in patients’ symptoms. Momentary self-reports of relatives’ behavioural responses were also linked with their negative affect. This thesis evidenced that relatives’ controllability and self-blame attributions and behavioural control are associated in significant and meaningful ways with psychosis experiences and can impact both patient and relative outcomes, shedding some light into the EE mechanisms that relate to relapse and to the development of EE responses in relatives. However, more work is needed to further understand how these mechanisms operate, particularly in high-EE-overinvolved or low-EE relatives, in order to increase our knowledge about relapse prevention. The findings highlighted that the concept of behavioural control should be considered in future clinical work with families experiencing psychosis.