Schizophrenia in high-risk subjects: Prognostic maternal characteristics.

A Danish prospective, longitudinal study of 207 children (average age 15 yrs) at high risk for schizophrenia (they have schizophrenic mothers), begun in 1962, involved assessment of mothers on a number of variables. In 1972 it was found that 17 of the children of these mothers became schizophrenic. The present study sought to identify predictors of schizophrenia among antecedent maternal variables. The mothers (15 Ss) of the children who became schizophrenic (a) had psychosis precipitated by childbirth and (b) exhibited instability in their relations with men as well as antisocial behaviors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social and academic competence of children vulnerable to schizophrenia and other behavior pathologies.

Presents the rationale behind and the initial findings from a research project investigating the competence of children vulnerable to psychopathology. 4 target groups were studied: (a) children with schizophrenic mothers, (b) children with internalizing mothers, (c) externalizing children, and (d) internalizing children. R. Achenbach's internalizing-externalizing classification system was used. Each of the 120 target children (mean age = 10) was placed in an experimental trial with 120 matched and 116 randomly-selected controls. Judgments of social and intellectual competence were made by peers and teachers in 113 classrooms in 37 elementary schools. Results are presented for each sex separately at the trial and target-group levels. Overall, externalizers were judged least competent, followed in order of increasing competence by children of schizophrenic mothers, internalizers, childern of internalizing mothers, and controls. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breakdown in high-risk subjects: Familial and early environmental factors.

Studied 40 children with schizophrenic mothers, selected from a larger study. 20 suffered breakdown; the others were matched controls. The mothers of Ss in the breakdown group experienced more emotional stress during their pregnancies than did the mothers of the improved group. Ss in the breakdown group suffered loss of mother at an earlier age and tended significantly not to acquire a substitute mother. The breakdown group tended to have mentally ill fathers as well as schizophrenic mothers. There were no fathers hospitalized for mental illness in the improved group. Results are discussed in terms of the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Signal detection in vigilance tasks and behavioral attributes among offspring of schizophrenic mothers and among hyperactive children.

24 children of schizophrenic mothers, 20 children of mothers with nonpsychotic psychiatric disorders falling outside the schizophrenia spectrum, and 14 hyperactive children were examined relative to groups of individually matched comparison children and to a representatively stratified group of 67 normal children. Ss were 9–16 yrs of age. Children of schizophrenic mothers showed lower mean perceptual sensitivity (PS) than matched and stratified normal children and included an excessive number of extremely poor scorers. Neither children of mothers with nonpsychotic disorders outside the schizophrenia spectrum nor hyperactive children displayed a significant deficit in PS. Hyperactive children scored lower on a beta response criterion factor across vigilance tasks and were rated as higher on an Emotionality factor and lower on a Fearful Inhibition factor than their normal peers. The perceptual sensitivity deficit among children of schizophrenic mothers was found across motivational feedback conditions and was evident throughout the vigilance period. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An analysis of the schizophrenogenic mother concept by means of the Thematic Apperception Test.

Administered the TAT to 20 mothers of schizophrenic and 20 mothers of normal children. Children were matched on the basis of sex, age, level of education, number of siblings, and the child's position among his siblings. Mothers were matched on the basis of age, level of education, and social class. Each story was judged pathogenic, benign, or unscorable by 2 clinicians. A pathogenic score was tabulated for each mother and for each TAT card from the following formula: pathogenic/pathogenic plus benign. It was found that mothers of schizophrenic children could be differentiated significantly from those of normal children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concept of "pathogenesis" in parents of schizophrenic and normal children.

Administered the TAT to 5 pairs of parents of normal and schizophrenic children in a cross-validation study. Parents by diagnostic category were matched on age, education, and social class. Each story was judged pathogenic, benign, or unscorable and a pathogenic score was tabulated for each S from the formula: pathogenic/pathogenic plus benign. Mothers of the normal children told significantly fewer pathogenic stories than mothers of the schizophrenic children. Although fathers did not differ significantly, their mean pathogenic scores were distributed according to the hypotheses of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological research of children with craniofacial anomalies: review, critique, and implications for the future

We conducted a 25-year follow-up study of 50 children of schizophrenic mothers, consisting of 25 children reared by their mothers and 25 children reared apart. The children's adult psychiatric status was evaluated in a 3-h structured interview employing a battery of syndrome check-lists and scales. A slightly higher incidence of psychopathology (including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders) was found among the reared-apart subjects. This may possibly be attributed to their greater genetic predisposition, as suggested by their mothers' more severe illnesses. Lifetime diagnoses do not provide evidence that psychopathology in offspring at genetic risk is increased by rearing by a schizophrenic mother.     

Growth, behavioral, and psychologic measurements of adopted children: the influences of genetic and socioeconomic factors in a prospective study

Perinatal, growth, social, and psychologic data, collected through seven years of age on 144 adopted children and on 288 matched controls as part of a prospective study of 3,120 children, were subjected to statistical analysis. Only single births and healthy children were included. The adopted subjects were divided into two groups: 94 children who were adopted by nonrelatives (77 prior to one year of age and 17 after one year of age); and 50 children who remained with their biologic mothers and were subsequently adopted by stepfathers. Children who were adopted prior to one year of age had significantly higher IQs at four years of age then did their controls; at seven years of age, however, their IQs were similar even though the adopted children were raised in a higher socioeconomic environment. The adopted children had better academic achievement and were taller at four and seven years of age than were the controls. The performance of the children adopted after one year of age, even though they were raised in a higher socioeconomic environment, were, were like those of their controls at both four and seven years of age. The performance of the children who remained with their biologic mothers was similar to that of their controls. Maternal intelligence generally did not correlate well with adopted children's intelligence; however, a specific significant positive correlation could be shown between maternal intelligence and the intelligence of children who remained with their biologic mothers.     

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)     

Behavioral and electrographic measures of attention in children at risk for schizophrenia.

A previous study by H. Grunebaum et al (see record 1975-00816-001) found that 5-yr-old children of schizophrenic mothers were impaired on visual attention tasks as compared with controls. No difference was observed in 6-yr-olds, however. This study reexamined the attentive behavior of 12 of these children 3 yrs later. In addition, evoked potentials to various visual stimuli were obtained. Group differences could no longer be found in visual attentive behavior; however, the risk group had evoked potentials of significantly higher amplitude and, under certain conditions, of longer latency than the controls. These findings suggest a maturational lag in visual stimulus processing in these children at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightning-strike disaster: Effects on children's fears and worries.

Administered a fear survey to 29 10–13 yr old children and their mothers who had been participants or observers when lightning struck a soccer game with a force that knocked down most of the participants and observers and led to the death of 1 participant. Two control children were matched to each lightning-strike (LS) child for age, sex, and SES, making a total of 58 controls. In addition, measures of Ss' sleep disturbances and somatic complaints were obtained from their mothers, and the interviewer rated each LS S for the extent of emotional upset caused by the disaster. Results show that differences between the LS and control groups were most pronounced for child-reported fears. The generalization gradient was fairly consistent with expectations from classical conditioning theory. The correspondence between the mothers' and children's reports of intense storm-related fears was markedly larger in the LS Ss than in the controls. Child-reported fears showed a number of substantial relations with mother-reported sleep and somatic problems and with interviewer-rated emotional upset. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The latent structure of schizotypy: I. Premorbid indicators of a taxon of individuals at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

A taxometric analysis (R. R. Golden & P. E. Meehl, 1979) was conducted to test the hypotheses that liability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders is dichotomously distributed and that this liability can be detected premorbidly with behavioral indicators analogous to many of the criteria for schizotypal personality disorder. Behaviors were assessed in 207 offspring of schizophrenic mothers and 104 matched offspring of normal parents in 1962, when participants' mean age was 15 years. Diagnoses on the basis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) were made in 1986–1989, when participants were nearly through the risk period for developing schizophrenia. The aggregation of indicators was consistent with a bimodal latent liability distribution. Membership in the schizotypal class was a sensitive and specific predictor of the emergence of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality resemblances between unwed mothers and their adopted-away offspring.

In a sample of 300 Texas adoptive families, there was a tendency for adopted children to be more extraverted and emotionally stable than biological children (3–18 yrs of age). For extraversion there was a low but significant resemblance between unwed mothers and their adopted-away children; mothers had been administered the 16 PF, children the High School or Children's Personality Questionnaire. Paradoxically, however, children of mothers with elevated MMPI scores tended to be rated as more emotionally stable than children of mothers with better adjustment on the MMPI. This latter finding is interpreted as suggesting an interaction between emotional sensitivity and the early environment. According to this hypothesis, individuals with genotypes making them vulnerable to their environments could thrive in the warm climate of the adoptive families, but turn out relatively badly in the presumably less benign families in which the unwed mothers were reared. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development, behaviour and temperament: a prospective study of infants conceived through in-vitro fertilization

The development, behaviour and temperament of 65 singleton infants conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and 63 matched controls were compared at 1 year postpartum. Primiparous women were recruited during pregnancy and their infants' development was assessed at 1 year. In addition, test-taking behaviour was evaluated by an examiner using the Bayley behaviour rating scale and mothers completed a behaviour problem checklist and temperament scale. Mental, motor, speech and social development were appropriate for age, with no significant group differences. While receptive language development was in the normal range, IVF infants scored lower than control infants. Across both groups, mothers reported low levels of behaviour difficulty and mean temperament ratings were in the general population range. There were no group differences in observed test-taking behaviour. However, IVF mothers rated their children at a higher level of behaviour difficulty and more reactive than the ratings given by control mothers. Overall, singleton children conceived through IVF demonstrate appropriate general development at 1 year of age. The higher reported behaviour difficulty experienced by IVF mothers may reflect their concerns about the well-being and adjustment of their child during the first year.     

Do parents influence the sexual orientation of their children? Findings from a longitudinal study of lesbian families.

Findings are presented of a longitudinal study of the sexual orientation of adults who had been raised as children in lesbian families. Twenty-five children of lesbian mothers and a control group of 21 children of heterosexual single mothers were first seen at age 9.5 years on average, and again at age 23.5 years on average. Standardized interviews were used to obtain data on sexual orientation from the young adults in the follow-up study, and on family characteristics and children's gender role behavior from the mothers and their children in the initial study. Although those from lesbian families were more likely to explore same-sex relationships, particularly if their childhood family environment was characterized by an openness and acceptance of lesbian and gay relationships, the large majority of children who grew up in lesbian families identified as heterosexual (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence of tics in the offspring of childhood tiquers: a controlled follow-up study

A five-year follow-up study of children whose parents had manifested tic in their childhood was carried out to see if they are more prone to develop tic than control children. The prevalence of tics was 20 per cent in the index group and 10 per cent in the controls, a statistically significant difference. This result could not be explained by the children's imitation of their parents. The mothers of the index children and 1000 unselected mothers were also compared for the prevalence of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms when their children were three years of age. There was no indication that the former were more psychologically distressed. It is suggested that there is a genetic basis for the susceptibility to develop tic.     

Psychological evaluation of clinical disturbance in children at risk for psychopathology.

Evaluated children of 1 schizophrenic or 1 manic-depressive parent for clinical disturbance in the St. Louis risk research project between 1967 and 1971. The investigation employed a psychological battery using the WISC or WAIS, figure drawings, the TAT, the Rorschach, and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Form Sequence, plus blind clinical disturbance ratings from the test batteries. Tests were administered individually to 339 6–20 yr old children from intact families with 1 schizophrenic, manic-depressive, or physically ill parent, or 2 normal parents. Children of psychiatrically ill parents were found to be more disturbed than children of nonpsychotic parents. Children with a schizophrenic parent demonstrated peformance on psychometric evaluation that was in some ways continuous with that of adult schizophrenics. Children of schizophrenic and manic-depressive parents differed from one another and from controls on 2 measures. In the aggressive content of their TAT stories, children with a schizophrenic parent showed less aggression than normals, and children with a manic-depressive parent showed more aggression than normals. On the Rorschach, children of schizophrenics gave more primitive responses than children of manic-depressives, and the children of normal parents gave an intermediate number of such responses. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood asthma: mothers' affective attitude, mother-child interaction and children's compliance with medical requirements

Maternal critical attitude (CA) and negative mother-child verbal interaction in families with an asthmatic child and in controls were investigated in the present study. Twenty-eight children with bronchial asthma (6-13 yr) and 23 healthy children with their mothers participated in the project. Mothers were asked to describe their child (Five Minute Speech Sample; FMSS). Mother and child were then asked to discuss a mutual problem (Problem Discussion; PD). Tape recordings were taken. The mothers' responses during the FMSS were used to assess CA. Negative verbal behavior during PD was coded by means of a reliable coding system for dyadic interaction. Significantly more mothers of the asthmatic children than of the controls showed CA during the FMSS. Mothers of the asthmatic children made significantly more critical remarks and offered more negative solutions during the PD. Within the asthma group mothers who made more critical remarks had to make more effort to have their child comply with the medical requirements. Additionally, mothers showing a higher total amount of negative verbal behavior had children with rather high IgE levels. There was no systematic difference between children having CA mothers with high vs low face-to-face contact.     

Multimodal assessment of impulsiveness in abusing, neglecting, and nonmaltreating mothers and their preschool children.

Three groups of 12 mothers who had a history of child abuse (mean age 26.67 yrs), child neglect (mean age 25.75 yrs), or no known history of child maltreatment (mean age 29.08 yrs) and their 48–70 mo old children were compared on the nature and extent of their impulsiveness in a multimodal assessment procedure. Children were also rated by their mothers on the Revised Conners Parent Rating Scale and by their teachers on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicate that comparison mothers performed better than did abusing mothers on 2 measures of motor inhibition, a modified Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Stroop Color and Word Test. Neglectful mothers rated their children as having more conduct problems than did comparison mothers. No significant differences were found on the other child measures of impulsiveness. Implications for assessing and treating child maltreatment are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Security of attachment, compliance, and maternal training methods in the second year of life.

36 children and their mothers were first observed when the child was 12 mo old, using the M. D. Ainsworth et al (1978) Strange Situation; based on their behavior in this setting, 22 infants were judged to be secure in attachment to their mothers. At age 21 mo, children (and mothers) were observed again, using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, an interview, and a laboratory play session. Children's measures were (a) proportions of maternal commands obeyed and actively disobeyed, (b) internalized controls, (c) cooperation with an adult woman playmate and the Bayley examiner, and (d) mother's report on home behavior. Secure infants were significantly more compliant and cooperative than the others on every 21-mo measure. Mothers of secure infants exhibited more gentle physical interventions and used warmer tones in giving commands than did mothers of nonsecure infants. Children's compliance and cooperation with the mother and with other persons were positively related to the mother's warmer tones and gentler physical interventions. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)