Disqualifying family communication as a predictor of changes in offspring competence: A 3-year longitudinal study of sons of psychiatric patients.

Investigated the effects of family communication on changes in offspring competence. 46 families in which at least 1 of the parents had been diagnosed with a functional psychiatric disorder were studied. Male index offspring's (aged 7 or 10 yrs at initial testing) competence was assessed by peers, teachers, parents, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) at the initial testing (Time 1) and at a 3-yr follow-up (Time 2). The family's communication was observed by means of the Consensus Family Rorschach procedure. During this testing, both parents and all of the children over the age of 4 yrs living at home were present. The results showed that the more disqualifying the communication the index offspring received from his family at Time 1, the less favorable was the development in social competence during the 3 yrs from Time 1 to Time 2. However, changes in cognitive competence from Time 1 to Time 2 were not associated with family communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)