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I R Falloon

Publications and source records attributed to I R Falloon.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

The prediction of relapse of schizophrenic patients using emotional data obtained from their relatives.

The capacity of anxiety and hostility outward scores derived from the content analysis of 5-minute speech samples from the relatives of patients to predict relapse or nonrelapse was tested in three distinct groups of schizophrenic patients. Significantly correct predictions were made which compared favorably to the predictive capacity of ratings obtained by means of the Camberwell Family Interview. The latter requires 1 to 2 hours to administer and about 1 hour to score, whereas the former method requires a tape-recorded 5-minute speech sample and up to 0.5 hour to score.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Family management in the prevention of morbidity of schizophrenia: social outcome of a two-year longitudinal study.

Effective community treatment of schizophrenia involves not merely the removal of florid symptoms, but restoration of effective social role functioning. The efficacy of a family management approach is compared with an individual approach of similar intensity in terms of its impact on the patient's social adjustment after a florid episode of schizophrenia. Clinical reports, patient self-reports, and interviews with the family members of 36 patients, who were randomly assigned to family or individual management, demonstrated a consistent superiority for family management. The advantages for the family approach were sustained over a two-year period. The potential mechanisms through which the family approach may have achieved its greater efficacy are discussed from a multi-determined perspective.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A brief method for assessing expressed emotion in relatives of psychiatric patients.

A measure of the attitudes and feelings that a relative expresses about a mentally ill family member, termed expressed emotion (EE), is derived from an extensive, semistructured interview, the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI). The present article describes a method for the assessment of EE attitudes that uses a variation of the 5-minute speech sample, originally developed by Gottschalk and Gleser (1969). The measure is derived from responses made by a patient's key relative when prompted to give thoughts and feelings about the patient for a 5-minute period. A coding system was developed to score behaviors analogous to those rated on the CFI, such as criticism and emotional overinvolvement. The relationship between blind EE ratings derived from the 5-minute speech samples and those from the CFI was investigated with two separate samples of relatives of schizophrenics. The relationship between the sets of ratings was very close and supports the value of the 5-minute speech sample as a brief EE screening procedure.

Attitude↗
PubMed1986

The impact of individual and family treatment on the affective climate of families of schizophrenics.

Measures of parental affective style were compared for families of schizophrenics participating in a controlled treatment study which contrasted individual and family-based therapeutic programmes. The total number of critical statements and non-critical, intrusive remarks was significantly lower after three months for parents of schizophrenics participating in family therapy, compared to those whose offspring received only individual therapy. An increased risk for relapse was associated with an increase in the number of critical and/or intrusive remarks for patients in individual treatment. A significant increase in non-emotional, problem-solving statements was observed in parents who received family therapy, compared with those who did not. The results suggest that a behaviourally-oriented, problem-solving family approach may have reduced the risk of relapse in the first nine months after discharge from hospital by teaching families concrete ways of solving problems and concomitantly reducing the amount of negative emotional relating between family members.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Family stress and schizophrenia. Theory and practice.

The association between clearly defined stress factors and a relapsing course of schizophrenia has gained support from recent research. The role of families in moderating this stress and thereby reducing the morbidity of schizophrenia is detailed in this article.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Parental affective style and the treatment of schizophrenia. Predicting course of illness and social functioning.

In a randomized controlled study, the affective style (AS) of parents of schizophrenics in clinic-based individual treatment groups and home-based family treatment groups was compared prior to treatment and again three months after treatment had begun. Affective style is an index reflecting the quality of the family emotional climate, measured from face-to-face discussion. Pretherapy and posttherapy measures of negative AS were significantly predictive of relapse within the nine-month treatment period for patients in individual treatment. In addition, for both treatment groups, a negative AS pattern at the posttherapy reassessment was significantly associated with decreased patient social functioning, reduced ability of the family to absorb the family intervention, and lower capacity of the family to cope with everyday family stresses. The results suggest that AS is an important intrafamilial attribute, with implications for treatment strategy and planning.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Family management in the prevention of morbidity of schizophrenia. Clinical outcome of a two-year longitudinal study.

Environmental stress may contribute to the clinical morbidity of established cases of schizophrenia treated with optimal neuroleptic drugs. A family-based approach that aimed to enhance the problem-solving capacity of the index patient and his family caregivers was compared with a patient-oriented approach of similar intensity over a two-year period. Thirty-six patients who returned to stressful parental households after florid episodes of schizophrenia (CATEGO and DSM-III) were stabilized with optimal neuroleptics before being randomly assigned to family or individual therapy in a comprehensive community management program. After nine months, family-managed patients had fewer exacerbations of schizophrenia, lower ratings of schizophrenic psychopathology, fewer hospital admissions, and a trend toward lower deficit symptoms and reduced neuroleptic dosage. This reduced clinical morbidity was sustained throughout the second year of less intensive follow-up. The relative efficacy of the family approach in this clinical management study did not appear to be due to prognostic factors, rater bias, stressful life events, or the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy. Definitive tests of these findings with respect to efficacy require further well-designed studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Family management in the prevention of morbidity of schizophrenia: the adjustment of the family unit.

Changes in the functioning of family members were assessed during a randomly controlled study of community management of schizophrenia. Eighteen families who completed two years community management based upon behavioural family therapy were compared with 18 families who received patient oriented management with family support. Families receiving family management reported less disruption of activities, reductions in physical and mental health problems, and less subjective burden than those receiving the patient oriented approach. It is concluded that the benefits of family management extend beyond the reduction in clinical and social morbidity of the index patient to beneficial effects for the family as a whole.

Family Therapy↗
PubMed1984

Family factors in schizophrenic relapse. Replication in California of British research on expressed emotion.

Our study of the emotional atmosphere of the homes of schizophrenic patients in southern California has replicated British findings concerning the influence of the family environment on the course of schizophrenia. As in the British studies, criticism and overinvolvement expressed by a key relative about the patient at the time of the key admission proved to be the best single predictor of symptomatic relapse in the nine months after discharge from the hospital. Replicating the British results, the association between relatives' expressed emotion and relapse was independent of all other variables investigated. Cross-cultural results concerning the prophylactic effects of medication suggest that clinicians should look to the emotional atmosphere in the home for explanations of medication failures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Relapse: a reappraisal of assessment of outcome in schizophrenia.

Although measurement of the course of schizophrenic disorder has relied heavily on the concept of relapse, a review of the literature reveals a paucity of clear definitions of relapse. In most research studies, the assessment of relapse has been made on the basis of clinical judgment, with little attempt to apply more rigorous psychometric standards. The limitations of this approach are discussed and several possible improvements are suggested. These include: operational definitions that specify the qualitative, quantitative, and temporal characteristics of symptomatic exacerbation; avoidance of potentially confounding social variables; and the use of standardized rating scales and target symptoms.

Humans↗
PubMed1984

Developing and maintaining adherence to long-term drug-taking regimens.

Prolonged adherence to neuroleptic medication by patients with schizophrenia involves many complex issues. These vary markedly from case to case, and poor compliance is effectively resolved only when the attitudes and behaviors of individual cases are carefully analyzed. This article describes some of the aspects that commonly contribute to deficient compliance in clinical practice, and offers suggestions for resolving these problems.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1984

Interactional correlates of expressed emotion in the families of schizophrenics.

Measures of intrafamilial expressed emotion (EE) predict relapse in schizophrenic patients, but previous research has not investigated whether EE scores are representative of ongoing family transactions. Parents of 42 hospitalized schizophrenic patients were rated for level and type of EE. Following the patient's discharge, families participated in two 10-minute direct interaction tasks. Transcripts from these interactions were coded on dimensions of affective communication. High-EE parents exhibited more negatively charged emotional verbal behaviour in direct transaction with their schizophrenic offspring than did low-EE parents. Some parents rated high-EE were distinguished by their frequent usage of critical comments during the interactions, whereas high-EE overinvolved parents used more intrusive, invasive statements. These findings support the construct validity of expressed emotion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Residential care and social behaviour: a study of rehabilitation needs.

Although most chronically impaired psychiatric patients now reside in community-based residential homes, a substantial number show little progress in their social rehabilitation. To establish the rehabilitative needs of this population, the current study sought to examine the social behaviour of residents of a large residential care facility. After an analysis of the social behaviour of all residents, two groups were selected for detailed study on the basis of their contrasting patterns of social interaction. These two groups were found to differ significantly with respect to their interpersonal activity, social contact, conversation skill, employment, and participation in community rehabilitation programmes. Psychiatric status was substantially different in each group. The implications of these findings for rehabilitation strategies in the management of severe mental illness are discussed.

Attitude↗