A study of three measures of expressed emotion in a sample of Chinese families of a person with schizophrenia

Emotional climate or expressed emotion (EE) has been examined in families of white descent who have a family member with schizophrenia but few studies have been conducted in Asian or Chinese families. This study tested the utility of the five-minute interview (FMI), adjective checklist (ACL) and family attitude scale (FAS) in a sample of Chinese family members in Beijing, in an attempt to introduce useful measures of EE into practice. A sample of 51 family members were interviewed and administered the three instruments. A total of 29.4% of families were found to be high-EE critical and 13.7% high-EE emotional over involvement using the FMI. The FAS and ACL prove internally consistent and were significantly correlated but not with the FMI. Cultural explanations for the discrepancies are offered. The measures have applicability in terms of understanding family relationships but further research and replication is necessary to deepen our understanding of EE in Chinese families.