Childhood social competence in functionally disordered psychiatric patients and in normals.

Assessed childhood social competence in 71 male and 70 female schizophrenics, personality disordered patients, psychotic depressives, neurotics, and normals. The results indicate that children eventually hospitalized for schizophrenia are characterized by their poor interpersonal skills long before symptom onset; academic competence failed to differentiate the various groups. Not all serious psychiatric disorder is preceded by poor social competence, as indicated by the psychotic depressives whose competence scores were not significantly different from the normals'. Analysis of sex and Sex?×?Diagnosis effects revealed that females were more competent than males regardless of psychiatric status. This may reflect primarily greater conformity to teacher expectations for appropriate school behavior. The absence of significant interaction effects suggests that previously reported sex differences in premorbid social competence are not specific to schizophrenic disorders. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Residual performance deficit in clinically remitted schizophrenics: A marker of schizophrenia?

The study of remitted schizophrenic outpatients is proposed as a way of minimizing the effects of the "nuisance variables" that confound the study of hospitalized schizophrenics. 20 hospitalized acutely disturbed schizophrenics (mean age, 37.0 yrs), 20 schizophrenic outpatients in clinical remission (mean age, 42.8 yrs) and 20 normal controls (mean age, 35.1 yrs) were administered a span of apprehension test and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT). All Ss were controlled for sex and WAIS scores and schizophrenics were rated with Phillips Prognostic Rating Scale. On the CPT, both acute and remitted schizophrenics made significantly more errors of omission and commission than did the normal controls. On the span of apprehension, both groups of schizophrenics showed a significantly greater decrement in accuracy of detection of the target stimuli than did normal controls. The same pattern of results has been observed in children at risk for schizophrenia, which suggests that the span of apprehension may be sensitive to core schizophrenic processes that are independent of clinical state. The cross-sectional study of the 3 stages of schizophrenia—the premorbid, acute, and remitted—is proposed as a way of identifying "core" schizophrenic processes and markers of vulnerability to schizophrenia. The adequacy of a general "attentional impairment" interpretation of schizophrenic deficit is questioned. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex bias in schizophrenia research: A short report.

Lack of consideration of possible sex differences among schizophrenics and a possible male bias was noted in a survey of 3 refereed journals publishing schizophrenia research. Studies in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, and the Archives of General Psychiatry often failed even to specify the sex composition of their schizophrenic samples. In addition, there was a tendency in 2 of these journals to use more male than female schizophrenic Ss. It is suggested that unattended sex differences among schizophrenics may influence both experimental results and sex composition of samples, thereby introducing a significant sex bias into schizophrenia research. Greater attention to differences between male and female schizophrenics is urged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of maternal psychopathology in male and female schizophrenics.

Selecting from records of a child guidance clinic, the psychopathology of 165 mothers of male and female children and adolescents was studied in order to investigate sex differences in the degree of relationship between mother's mental status and the child's later hospitalization for schizophrenia. Of the children, 108 were later hospitalized for schizophrenia, while 57 achieved an adequate adjustment in areas of work and interpersonal relationships. For the girls, those who became schizophrenic had severely disturbed mothers significantly more often than did those who achieved an adequate adjustment (p     

A comparative-developmental approach to schizophrenia.

A comparative-development theory, in order to encompass schizophrenic processes, must introduce constructs which suggest a parallelism of various aspects of schizophrenia with the developmental patterns of childhood. The functions of emotion, perception, learning, thinking and language, socialization, and motor functions are examined from this viewpoint. By showing the essential similarity of structure between young children and schizophrenics, it is concluded that the approach is helpful in understanding schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object sorting and the heterogeneity of schizophrenia.

Gave 126 schizophrenics who were off drugs, 23 schizophrenics on drugs, and 52 nonpsychotic Ss a 30-item object-sorting test using D. Rapaport et al's passive sorting procedure. Inadequate responses were scored as Restrictive or Expansive. Some schizophrenics made predominantly Restrictive errors, and others made predominantly Expansive errors. Both chronic and newly admitted drug-free schizophrenics exceeded nonpsychotic Ss on the variance of the score of the difference between the 2 kinds of errors. Several potential statistical phenomena that often produce such heightened schizophrenic variance were ruled out. The test identifies patients with diverse error propensities and thus seems promising as a tool for seeking subdisorders within schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental factors related to schizophrenia in psychophysiologically labile high-risk males.

Research indicates that certain parameters of electrodermal functioning are related to schizophrenia and risk for schizophrenia. The present study investigated childhood environmental factors in 2 subgroups of high-risk 9–20 yr old males (offspring of schizophrenic mothers): those who showed patterns of electrodermal lability in childhood and later became schizophrenic (9 Ss), and a matched subgroup who showed similar patterns of electrodermal functioning but did not become schizophrenic (9 Ss). The variables examined were parental absence, institutionalization of the child, and quality of the home and neighborhood. The schizophrenic group had experienced significantly more paternal absence during the 2nd yr of life. Schizophrenic Ss also experienced significantly more childhood institutionalization, particularly in the 1st and 6th–20th yrs of life. The quality of home and neighborhood and maternal absence did not distinguish the 2 groups. Findings are interpreted as indicating the importance of paternal presence in ameliorating the disruptive effects of the schizophrenic mother on vulnerable male offspring. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia: A review.

Describes 3 approaches using monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia. It is noted that comparisons of discordant with concordant pairs have yielded conflicting results concerning the possibility of both genetic and environmentally induced forms of schizophrenia. Life history comparisons of schizophrenics with their nonschizophrenic co-twins have revealed consistent early differences in personality and parental treatment; investigators disagree, however, on the relationship of birth weight to schizophrenic development. Relatively few studies have been done of concordance for personality or performance traits among monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenic diagnosis. It is suggested that this 3rd type of research holds great promise for identifying fundamental manifestations of the schizophrenic genotype, that higher female concordance rates make female discordance worthy of greater attention, and that investigations of environmental influences on the development of schizophrenia neglect less the possible positive influences which may buffer against schizophrenic breakdown. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic loadings in schizophrenia: a dermatoglyphic study

Finger and palmar dermatoglyphics of 120 male and 120 female schizophrenics with and without a family history of schizophrenia in first-degree relatives were studied in the northwestern part of India. Patients were selected according to specific diagnostic criteria. Significant dermatoglyphic differences were observed for fingerprint patterns, total finger ridge counts and 'atd' angle between the schizophrenics with and those without a positive family history of schizophrenia, suggesting a strong "genetic loading" (i.e., hereditary factors) in familial cases of schizophrenia. Dermatoglyphic features of isolated schizophrenics also significantly differed from those of controls, thus indicating the involvement of genetic factors in the etiology of schizophrenia.     

Children at high risk for schizophrenia: Parent and offspring perceptions of family relationships.

The current investigation examined family relationships prior to the onset of psychopathology in a sample at high risk for schizophrenia. The theory underlying this investigation is that individuals with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorders (SPD) share a similar genetic predisposition to schizophrenia; environmental factors determine whether the full schizophrenic syndrome develops. In previous studies we have concentrated on biological and environmental factors that differentiate schizophrenics from schizotypals. In this study, the results demonstrated that the family relationships of high-risk offspring who later developed schizophrenia were perceived to be significantly less satisfactory than the family relationships of high-risk offspring who were later diagnosed as having SPD or no mental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal associative disturbances in children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Analyzed single-word and continuous association test behaviors of children at high (207 Ss) and low (104 Ss) risk for schizophrenia. A comparison was also made between test scores of those high-risk Ss who later became schizophrenic and scores of others who did not. Although high-risk Ss exhibited more deviant associations than low-risk Ss, premorbid associative disturbance did not characterize those who later became schizophrenic. These findings are not supportive of learning theories of associative disturbance. When combined with recent evidence showing that degree of associative disturbance at initial breakdown is not predictive of chronicity or outcome, these findings call for a reevaluation of the central character of associative disturbance in schizophrenia. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiological correlates of responsiveness in schizophrenia.

Measured responsiveness under stress through music preferences for 11 male and 9 female schizophrenics receiving no antipsychotic medication. These Ss were compared with a control group of 7 male and 13 female hospital staff or volunteers. Results indicate that higher schizophrenic responsiveness was related to lower skin conductance, fewer body movements, greater diastolic blood pressure decrease, better word recall, and shorter periods of institutionalization. Normal controls did not differ significantly in music preferences but were lower in all physiological measures. The finding that sweat gland activity, muscle tension, and diastolic blood pressure changes were related to stress in these acute schizophrenics paralleled the findings of A. F. Ax, et al (1969) with chronic schizophrenics. The interpretation that responsiveness is related to ability to cope with stress in schizophrenia is supported by results of the current study. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body-image aberration in schizophrenia.

A 28-item true–false scale was constructed to measure schizophrenic body-image aberration. The scale was standardized on both 631 male and 718 female college students and 100 male noncollege normal controls (mean age 31.7 yrs). The 74 male schizophrenic Ss reported more body-image aberration than normal nonstudent Ss, but only a portion of the schizophrenics were deviant. 20 male nonpsychotic clinic clients did not have heightened scores. Correlational findings indicate that schizophrenic body-image aberration is an aspect of a broader perceptual aberration. Scores on body-image aberration were negatively correlated with time since first hospitalization. The Body-Image Aberration Scale had essentially no correlation with the Physical Anhedonia Scale (L. J. Chapman, J. P. Chapman, and M. L. Raulin) for schizophrenics. For nonschizophrenics, however, high scores on the 2 scales accompanied one another significantly less often than expected by chance. It is suggested that the 2 scales may identify alternative manifestations of proneness toward the same schizophrenia. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regression and disorders of thought.

Utilizing 2 tests (see 35: 5236; 36: 4JQ14C) devised to assess use of various kinds of words, the responses of elementary school children were compared with the responses of a previously obtained sample of schizophrenics. The purpose of the comparison was to test the assumption that schizophrenia involves a regression to a more primitive, infantile stage, and that the thinking of the schizophrenic would resemble that of the child. On some of the tasks, the thinking of the children and the schizophrenic were similar; on others, the children and the organics were similar. The literal use of the term regression re: schizophrenia was rejected. Methodological problems of research in this area are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Registered criminality in families with children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Describes a project in which 207 Danish children (mean age 15.1 yrs in 1962) with schizophrenic mothers have been periodically assessed and followed since 1962. 104 children matched in age, whose parents and grandparents had never been psychiatrically hospitalized, served as controls. The number of registered criminal offenses in the Ss, their schizophrenic mothers, and their fathers was found to be higher than for controls. Implications for high-risk research and hypotheses on the relation of schizophrenia and criminality are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blink rate in childhood-onset schizophrenia: comparison with normal and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder controls

Several lines of evidence have implicated central dopaminergic pathways in the modulation of blink rate. In the present study, blink rate during smooth pursuit was examined in 17 children with childhood-onset schizophrenia, on and off of clozapine, and compared to that of age-matched normal children and unmedicated children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As has been observed in adolescent and adult schizophrenics, blink rate was significantly higher in schizophrenic children relative to normal and ADHD controls. Within the schizophrenic group, blink rate did not significantly change with the introduction of clozapine and was not related to clinical variables. Blink rate was positively correlated with deterioration in smooth pursuit in normal subjects.     

Markers from event-related potential subcomponents and reaction time for information processing dysfunction in schizophrenia

Event-related potentials (ERPs) can serve as markers for cognitive processing stages. Identification of those ERPs altered in schizophrenia offer information about cognitive dysfunction. Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were elicited within an oddball paradigm in 35 schizophrenic patients and compared with 35 healthy controls. N100 and P200, as well as N200, frontal P300 and parietal P300 subcomponents, were separated using dipole source analysis. The amplitudes of the N100 and the parietal P300 measured in schizophrenics were diminished. The input-related processing stages (N100 and P200) were not altered, whereas later, the deviant and task-related processes (N200, frontal P300, parietal P300 and reaction time) were significantly prolonged in schizophrenia.