Does expressed emotion in spouses predict subsequent problems among care recipients with Alzheimers disease?
Researchers have observed that Expressed Emotion (i.e., criticism; EE) in caregivers is predictive of poorer functioning in psychiatric care recipients over time. Few studies have examined, however, whether EE has predictive validity for the decline of care recipients with a clearly defined organic illness such as Alzheimer’s disease. This study evaluated whether Alzheimer’s disease care recipient problems [in cognition, activities of daily living (ADLs), and negative behaviors] were predicted longitudinally by caregiver EE. As hypothesized, caregiver EE was not predictive of care recipient cognitive or ADL decline; however, data suggested that EE was predictive of increased negative behaviors over time. The specific predictions of negative care recipient behaviors, and not care recipient cognitive/ADL decline, suggest that the former outcomes may be determined by environmental factors as well as the organicity of the disease. These data may be important because researchers have report
