The predictive capacity of perceived expressed emotion as a dynamic entity of adolescents from the general community

Abstract

BackgroundIn previous studies, it has been demonstrated that high parental expressed emotion (EE) is predictive of depressive, aggressive and delinquency symptoms of adolescents. Two issues have received much less prominence in EE research, these being studies of adolescent perceived EE and the measurement of the EE as a dynamic, developmental construct. This 4-year, three-wave, longitudinal study of perceived EE of adolescents from the general community examines if adolescent perceived EE measured with the traditional, one-measurement EE approach as well as adolescent perceived EE measured with a repeated measured, dynamic EE approach can predict adolescent depressive, aggressive and delinquency symptoms.MethodsDutch adolescents (N = 285; 51% girls; M = 13 years) from the general community were prospectively studied annually for 4 years. At all waves, the adolescents completed the Level of Expressed Emotion (LEE) questionnaire and at the final wave also completed self-rated measures of depressive, aggressive and delinquent symptoms. Growth models were used to predict adolescent symptoms from adolescent perceived EE.ResultsGrowth models significantly predicted adolescent depressive, aggressive and delinquency symptoms from adolescent perceived EE.ConclusionsThis study of the LEE demonstrates that developmental characteristics of EE are predictive of adolescents’ symptoms. These findings hold implications for current EE intervention therapies and the conceptualization of EE.

Is Adolescent Generalized Anxiety Disorder a Magnet for Negative Parental Interpersonal Behaviors?

“…The perceived parental rejection measure of this study was derived from the hostile criticism subscale of the Level of Expressed Emotion questionnaire (LEE). [22,23] Reliability and construct validity of the Dutch translation of the LEE have been shown to be strong for both Dutch adults [22] and Dutch adolescents. [23] In the current study, Cronbach's alphas for this subscale ranged from 0.69 to 0.77.…”

How does longitudinally measured maternal expressed emotion affect internalizing and externalizing symptoms of adolescents from the general community?

“…The questionnaire, filled in by the mother, is scored on a four‐point scale ranging from 1 = ‘ untrue’ to 4 = ‘ true’ . The LEE has demonstrated good psychometric properties in previous studies of adults (Gerlsma & Hale, 1997) and adolescents (Hale et al, 2007, in press).…”

“…However, these studies by Hale et al (2007, in press) studied only the adolescent’s perception of parental EE, and did not study the parents’ view of their own EE. Since EE was originally designed as an interview (i.e., the CFI) to determine the parents’ EE, it stands to reason that the parents’ view of their EE, much like the interview, should also be examined in the same questionnaire format.…”

“…Nevertheless, on the basis of previous (predominately cross‐sectional) EE studies, one could assume that a parent effect model would best predict the course of adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Before these three effect models can be tested, a confirmatory factor analysis will be conducted to examine whether this parent version of the LEE had a similar five‐scale factor structure as the adolescent five‐scale version of the LEE (Hale et al, in press).…”

Brief report: Borderline personality symptoms and perceived caregiver criticism in adolescents

“…Defined as family members’ criticism, hostility, and/or emotional over-involvement toward an individual, the EE construct has been linked to numerous forms of psychopathology throughout development (Hooley, 2007), with the parental criticism factor in particular evidencing relations to BPD in adulthood and mood and anxiety disorders in childhood (Cheavens et al, 2005; Hooley, 2007; McCarty, Lau, Valeri, & Weisz, 2004; Silk et al, 2009). Although much of this research examines the impact of parental criticism on psychopathology, emerging research highlights a bidirectional relation between parental criticism and psychopathology (with the latter influencing both parents’ actual behaviors and children's perceptions of parental behaviors; Hale III, Keijsers, et al, 2011; Hale III, Raaijmakers, Hoof, & Meeus, 2011). Given evidence that perceptions of parental criticism are just as important to the caregiver-child relationship as the actual level of criticism a parent displays (Nelemans, Hale III, Branje, Hawk, & Meeus, 2013), research examining the relation of adolescent psychopathology to perceived parental criticism is needed.…”