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.