EFFECTS OF CHILD-REARING BY SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHERS - A 25-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

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