Relatives' emotional involvement moderates the effects of family therapy for bipolar disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The "critical comments" dimension of the expressed emotion (EE) construct has been found to predict the illness course of patients with bipolar disorder, but less is known about the "emotional overinvolvement" component. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether relatives' observed appropriate and inappropriate emotional involvement (intrusiveness, self-sacrifice, and distress about patients' well-being) moderated the effectiveness of a family-based intervention for bipolar disorder.

Method

108 patients with bipolar disorder (mean age = 35.61 years, SD = 10.07; 57% female) and their relatives (62% spouses) from 2 clinical trials completed 10-min problem-solving interactions prior to being treated with pharmacotherapy plus family-based therapy (FBT) or brief ps

SUBMITTER: Fredman SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4324368 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature