FUSION IN THE PARENT RELATIONSHIP OF SCHIZOPHRENICS

PARENTS of schizophrenics have increasingly been included in the treat ment of their offspring, either in psychoeducational oriented approach es (Anderson et al. 1980) or in regular family therapy (Hoffman 1981). However, the success of such interventions may depend on the nature o f the parental relationship. Furthermore, in designing treatment progr ams for schizophrenics that include their parents, the particularities of the parental relationship need to be taken into account. Hence, de scriptions of the relationship between parents of schizophrenics shoul d be valuable for the clinician. Providing such descriptions is the ge neral aim of the present study.