Do recent-onset schizophrenia patients experience a "social network crisis"?

It has been proposed that the onset of schizophrenia creates a social network crisis, resulting in a dramatic deterioration of social resources during the period immediately following a first hospitalization from essentially normal pre-hospitalization levels. To evaluate this proposal, recent onset patients (n = 89) completed comprehensive assessments that examined their social networks in the 12 months prior to first hospitalization and, in a subset of patients (n = 34), at a 15-month follow-up. Cross-sectional relationships to social functioning and symptoms were examined at both time points.

Ethnicity, expressed emotion, attributions, and course of schizophrenia: family warmth matters.

The authors examined the role of family factors and the course of schizophrenia by carrying out additional assessments and analyses in 2 previously published studies of Mexican American and Anglo American patients and families. The authors found partial support for an attributional model of relapse for families who are low in emotional overinvolvement. Attributions of control, criticism, and warmth together marginally predicted relapse.