Emotional reactions of relatives to schizophrenic patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

Unlike what obtains in the developed countries, not much is known about the expressed emotions (EE) of the family to mental illness in developing nations, including Nigeria. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the EE among family members to schizophrenics in Lagos, Nigeria. The Camberwell Family Interview was conducted with Nigerian family members of 19 schizophrenics whose symptoms were further ascertained using the Present State Examination. Sixty-three percent of the family sample showed high expressed emotions (HEE). The proportion of HEE families increased progressively with the number of previous hospitalization (r = 1, p = 0.000). The mean ratings of Critical Comment, Warmth and Positive Remarks were, respectively, 6.1 (+/- 3.8), 2.6 (+/- 0.9) and 2.2 (+/- 0.9) and 2.2 (+/- 1.3). The proportions of relatives showing Emotional Over-Involvement and Hostility were, respectively, 26.3% and 31.6%. The correlation between Warmth and Critical Comment was -0.39. The findings were compared with those of a key cross-cultural study of EE and the implications highlighted.