Five-Minute Speech Sample measure of expressed emotion among parents of typically developing Italian children: a pilot study

Although community samples have been used for comparison with at-risk and disturbed children, very few studies have examined parental Expressed Emotion in family members of typically developing children. This descriptive study reports Expressed Emotion for a community-based Italian sample of mothers and fathers of children without clinical mental health problems (N=101) ages 6 to 11 years (M = 8.2, SD = 1.4). Children were drawn from regular elementary schools in Italy. Expressed Emotion was measured using the Five-minute Speech Sample. Mothers', fathers', and families' Expressed Emotion frequencies and percents were calculated, as well as frequencies and percents of Expressed Emotion subcomponents of Criticism and Emotional Over-involvement. As expected, low rates were found. There were no significant differences between fathers' and mothers' Expressed Emotion categories.