The Family Environment of Schizophrenic Patients

The case histories of a series of 50 patients who had become manifestly schizophrenic prior to the age of 21 were studied to evaluate the nature of their family environment. Twenty had lost a parent by death or separation prior to their 19th birthday; in 9 cases (possibly 10) this loss was due to the serious emotional illness of one parent. Twenty of the 33 for whom there were adequate data had parents who were clearly incompatible. Twenty-three had at least one parent who was grossly unstable. Eighteen patients had been raised in a manner which was clearly bizarre or deleterious according to conventional standards. Only 5 of the 50 patients could be considered to have been raised in homes that seemed reasonably favorable and which contained 2 stable and compatible parents until the patient was 18 years old. The large majority were impeded by multiple deleterious influences which were chronically present or frequently recurrent. The paternal influence, according to this gross evaluation, was harmful as frequently as the maternal. The implications for the further study of the etiology of schizophrenia are discussed.