MINOR PHYSICAL ANOMALIES - MODIFIERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS FOR PSYCHIATRIC IMPAIRMENT

Objective: To test the hypothesis that minor physical anomalies (MPAs) modify an adolescent's vulnerability to environmental risk factors fo r psychopathology. Method: One hundred eighteen unreferred male adoles cents who had been evaluated as 7-year-olds received a comprehensive n europsychiatric evaluation. The evaluation included standardized asses sments of environmental risk factors for psychiatric impairment, neuro logical signs, IQ, MPAs, and psychiatric impairment. The relationship between psychiatric status and environmental risk was examined as a fu nction of tile MPA profile. Results: There was a significant interacti on between MPAs and environmental risk in predicting psychiatric statu s. Environmental risk was more predictive of psychiatric impairment at age 17 in subjects with high scores on the MPA scale than in subjects with low scores on the scale. This relationship was particularly appa rent in subjects with conduct disorder. MPAs also exhibited relationsh ips with two childhood factors, neurological soft signs and Verbal IQ, that had been shown to predict adolescent psychopathology in prior re ports on this cohort. Conclusions: MPAs may contribute to psychiatric impairment by influencing an individual's vulnerability to environment al risk factors for psychopathology. These suggestive findings are con sistent with an emerging body of literature examining the role of biop sychosocial interactions in psychiatric disorders.