Perception of Parent-child Relationships in High-risk Families, and Adult Schizophrenia Outcome of Offspring

The current investigation examines perceived family relationships prior to the onset of psychopathology in a sample at high-risk for schizophrenia. Previous research suggests that environmental factors, such as family relationships, may contribute to later schizophrenia in high-risk individuals. This investigation extends work by Burman et al. [Burman B, Mednick SA, Machon RA, Parnas J, Schulsinger F. Children at high risk for schizophrenia: parent and offspring perceptions of family relationships. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1987;96(4):364-6] by examining high-risk subjects from a longitudinal data set who had not yet decompensated to schizophrenia at the time of the Burman study. Findings suggest that having positive relationships with both the mother and father may be protective against schizophrenia among HR children.