Expressed emotion and causal attributions in the spouses of depressed patients

High levels of expressed emotion are thought to be related to the attributions relatives make about the causes of a patient's illness and problem behaviors. Causal attributions occurring during spontaneous speech in 43 spouses of depressed patients were examined. Consistent with theoretical prediction and with previous research in schizophrenia, high critical spouses were more likely than low critical spouses to attribute patients' symptoms and negative behaviors to factors that were controllable by and personal to the patients. High critical spouses also made more attributions that implied that they held patients responsible for their difficulties. Although predictive of spouses' criticism, these attribution dimensions did not predict patient relapse. The results suggest that causal attributions are important for understanding spouses' criticism but are of limited predictive validity with respect to depressive relapse.