OUTCOME PREDICTORS IN A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF HIGH-RISK BOYS

This study of ''high risk'' investigated a 3-year follow-up sample of boys in the University of Rochester Child and Family Study of intact f amilies in which at least one parent had been hospitalized for a psych iatric disorder. These families and their sons were studied in order t o identify predictive factors for child outcome. Best-functioning (n = 17) and worst-functioning (n = 13) groups of boys (from a total N = 9 4) were differentiated successfully by time 1 parent and family intera ction predictors. These variables included several measures of parent deviant communication and balanced/warm family interaction, chronicity and level of parent pathology, and socioeconomic class. Parent diagno sis was not associated significantly with outcome.