Parental communication deviance and schizophrenia: a cross-cultural comparison of Mexican- and Anglo-Americans

Article Abstract:

Parents of 52 recently hospitalized schizophrenics were enlisted for a study to identify aspects of the family environment that may be involved in triggering or affecting schizophrenia. A total of 32 Mexican-American and 32 Anglo-American subjects were administered the thematic apperception test (TAT) in their respective native languages. The tests were scored for six communication deviance (CD) factors: contorted, peculiar language; misperceptions; "flighty" anxiousness; overpersonalized closure problems; faulty overintellectualization; and "failure to integrate" closure problems. No differences were found between the two groups, suggesting that differences observed in the CD scores of the parents of schizophrenics are not due to linguistic or cultural factors. These scores may be a marker linked to language production, which is felt to be related to the biological tendency toward schizophrenia shared in the families of schizophrenics. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Risk factors, Language and languages, Interpersonal communication, Ethnopsychology, Cross-cultural psychology, Cultural psychiatry

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Expressed emotion and subclinical psychopathology observable within the transactions between schizophrenic patients and their family members

Article Abstract:

Analysis of transcripts from families of schizophrenic patients using the Patient Symptom Profile revealed that patients in high-expressed emotion (EE) environments tended to exhibit more psychopathology when interacting with family members. Results also demonstrated that in high-EE families, relatives tended more to criticize the unusual thoughts of patients, who tend to respond in turn by expressing another unusual thought.

Social aspects, Family

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