COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARENTS OF SCHIZOPHRENIC-PATIENTS

This article reviews the empirical literature on cognition and communi cation in the parents of schizophrenic patients to address the questio ns of whether these parents as a group show evidence of any distinguis hing cognitive characteristics and, if so, what those characteristics might be. Included in the review are studies of thought and communicat ion disorder, and psychometric studies of cognitive functioning. We in cluded only those that used reliable measures and included control gro ups in their designs. Taken together, the findings provide substantial evidence that nonschizophrenic parents of schizophrenic patients as a group demonstrate subtle cognitive difficulties in the area of concep t formation and maintenance. There are also indications of other cogni tive anomalies that will require further study. We discuss the importa nce of clarifying the etiological relevance of these findings and of p ursuing further research in this area.