The Relationship between Religious Coping Styles, Shame-Proneness, Guilt-Proneness and Expressed Emotion among Family Members of Individuals with Chronic Mental Disorder

 The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the associations between expressed emotion, religious copings and shame-proneness, guilt-proneness amongfamily members of people with chronic mental disorders, and (2) examining the differential relationship between shameproneness, guilt-proneness and religious copings. Population considered as all of the families who have a family member with chronic mental disorders in Zanjan, Iran. We used convenient sampling method and finally 116 people accepted to participate in this study. Participants were asked to fill demographic checklist, religious belief coping scale, test of self-conscious affect, and family questionnaire (as an index for expressed emotion). Positive religious coping could predict expressed  emotion above and beyond other variables. Regarding the components of expressedemotion, 71% of families in criticism toward patient and 59% in emotional over involvement get scores higher than normal level[0]. Individual traits like shame proneness and guilt proneness do not predict expressed emotion and this might have indicated the role of other risk factors such as social stigma towards mental disorders