Understanding caregiving relationships in early psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can caregiving appraisals be understood using an attachment framework in early psychosis?
IRAS ID
144804
Contact name
Miriam Fornells-Ambrojo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Research summary
This study aims to understand care giving appraisals in early psychosis.
There is evidence that carers of people with psychosis can significantly influence the course of the patient's illness; playing a crucial role in improving access to mental health services, increasing treatment adherence and influencing frequency of relapse. Caregivers themselves report a range of positive care giving experiences alongside considerable distress and burden of care.
Expressed Emotion (EE) is a way of measuring and understanding interpersonal relationships between individuals with mental illness and their family members. High EE (defined as high levels of criticism, hostility and emotional over-involvement) has been shown to be one of the most robust predictors of poor outcomes for patients and increased distress and burden for carers. However, empirical evidence has some way to go in understanding the mechanisms influencing EE.
A number of recent studies have indicated that adult relationships are based on a 'template' of early attachment relationships with significant caregivers.
The primary aim of this study is to investigate if caregivers’ adult attachment style helps explain their level of EE towards the person they are caring for.
Secondary aims of the study include investigating whether established associations between EE and other variables (e.g. beliefs about illness, burden experienced by carers) can be understood also using an attachment framework.
Carers of people with psychosis will be invited to take part in this research and asked to complete a series of questionnaires measuring their own attachment style, EE along with a variety of other measures related to care giving and service engagement.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1252
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion