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How do hostile and emotionally overinvolved relatives view relationships?: what relatives' pronoun use tell us
- Authors:
- SIMMONS Rachel A., CHAMBLESS Dianne L., GORDON Peter C.
- Journal article citation:
- Family Process, 47(3), September 2008, pp.405-419.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Expressed emotion (EE) has been linked to negative outcomes for a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Despite development of effective interventions to reduce EE, relatively little is known about EE's antecedents or maintaining factors. This American study uses a novel methodology (measurement of pronouns used by relatives during the Camberwell Family Interview [CFI] or a problem-solving interaction with the patient) to explore possible cognitive correlates of EE. Participants were 98 outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder or panic disorder with agoraphobia and their primary relative. Results showed that relatives' pronoun use was stable across situations. Relatives' hostility and criticism, as measured by objective coding of relatives' behaviour during the CFI and interactions, respectively, were related to relatives' decreased we-focus and increased me-focus in the 2 situations. In contrast to expectations, relatives' emotional over involvement was related to their decreased we-focus during CFIs and interactions. Results support the value of using pronouns as a means to explore important aspects of relationship functioning.