Expressed emotion and reflective functioning across the schizotypy spectrum: Developmental experiential factors.

Expressed Emotion (EE) in relation to caregivers is predictive of relapse and symptom exacerbation over the course of schizophrenia and other severe mental disorders. Even individuals with milder, subclinical manifestations of the schizophrenia genotype, such as schizotypy, may be adversely affected by high levels of EE. A potential source of resilience in high EE caretaking environments might be the capacity for mentalization or reflective functioning (RF), which is the ability to accurately think about the mental states of others and the self. The main hypothesis of the present study is that when mentalization capacity or RF remains intact or is reestablished following childhood adversity, it can act to mitigate the impact of high EE environments. Participants (N = 252) were recruited from an online crowdsourcing site, Mturk. Participants completed a series of measures, including the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief (MSS-B), the Level of Expressed Emotion Scale-Past (LEE-P), and one open-ended question from the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Results were attained through a series of regression analyses that looked at the relations between EE, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), and schizotypy and general linear models (mediation analyses) that addressed the complex links among EE, ACE, schizotypy, and RF. As predicted by the present study and consistent with the hypothesized protective role of RF, participants with higher levels of overt childhood trauma who reca...
Source: Psychoanalytic Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research