Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T19:06:43.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Implications of Adoption Studies on Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2018

Pekka Tienari
Pekka Tienari*
Affiliation:
University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

It is accepted that schizophrenia runs in families, but whether this relates to genetic or psychosocial transmission is an unanswered question. Kendler (1988) has articulated four testable hypotheses: (a) a general liability to any psychiatric illness (b) a liability to schizotypal functioning — oddness, suspiciousness etc. (c) a liability to broadly defined schizophrenic psychosis, or any functional, non-affective psychosis and (d) a specific liability to narrowly defined schizophrenia, e.g. using DSM-III-R criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). Kendler suggests that neither hypothesis (a) nor (d) is correct, and that the familial predisposition is neither completely non-specific nor highly specific; available results strongly support the second hypothesis and also provide some support in favour of the third.

Type
Risk factors
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue S18: Onset and Course of Schizophrenic Disorders: Dynamic Interactions between Relevant Factors , October 1992 , pp. 52 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1968) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2nd edn) (DSM-II). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM-III). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM-III-R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Eaves, L. J. (1984) The resolution of genotype x environment interaction in segregation analysis of nuclear families. Genetic Epidemiology, 1, 215–228.Google Scholar
Heston, L. L. (1966) Psychiatric disorders in foster home reared children of schizophrenic mothers. British Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 819–825.Google Scholar
Kendler, K. S. (1988) The genetics of schizophrenia: an overview. In Nosology, Epidemiology and Genetics of Schizophrenia. Handbook of Schizophrenia (Vol. 3) (eds M. T. Tsuang & J. C. Simpson), pp. 437–462. New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Kendler, K. S., S., K. & Gruenberg, A. M. (1984) An independent analysis of the Danish Adoption Study of schizophrenia: VI. The relationship between psychiatric disorders as defined by DSM-III in the relatives and adoptees. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 555–564.Google Scholar
Kety, S. S., Rosenthal, D., Wender, P. H., et al (1975) Mental illness in the biological and adoptive families of adoptive individuals who have become schizophrenic: a preliminary report based on psychiatric interviews. In Genetic Research in Psychiatry in Genetic Research in Psychiatry (eds R. R. Fieve, D. Rosenthal & H. Brill), pp. 147–165. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Kety, S. S., Rosenthal, D., Wender, P. H., et al (1978) The biologic and adoptive families of adopted individuals who became schizophrenic: Prevalence of mental illness and other characteristics. In The Nature of Schizophrenia (eds Wynne, L. C., Cromwell, R. L. & Matthysse, S.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Kinney, D. K. & Jacobsen, B. (1981) Environmental factors elucidated by adoption studies. In Biological Psychiatry 1981 (eds Perris, C., Struwe, G. & Jansson, B.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Kringlen, E. (1991) Adoption studies in functional psychosis. European Archives of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, 240, 307–313.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. M., Beavers, W. R., Gosset, J. T., et al (1976) No Single Thread: Psychological Health in Family Systems. New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Lewontin, R. C., Rose, S. & Kamin, L. J. (1984) Not in our Genes. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Lidz, T., Blatt, S. & Cook, B. (1981) Critique of the Danish-American studies of the adopted-away offspring of schizophrenic parents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 1063–1068.Google Scholar
Blatt, S. & Cook, B. (1983) Critique of the Danish-American studies of the biological and adoptive relatives of adoptees who became schizophrenic. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 426–434.Google Scholar
Lowing, P. A., Mirsky, A. F. & Pereira, R. (1983) The inheritance of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A reanalysis of the Danish adoptee study data. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 1167–1171.Google Scholar
Moring, J., Asarnow, K., Nuechterlein, K. et al (1991) Information processing impairment in Finnish adopted-away offspring of schizophrenic mothers and control mothers. Schizophrenia Research, 4 (3), (Special Issue): 282 (Abstract).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paikin, H., Jacobsen, B., Schulsinger, F. et al (1974) Characteristics of people who refused to participate in a social and psychopathological study. In Genetics, Environment and Psychopathology (eds S. A. Mednick, F. Schulsinger, J. Higgens et al), pp. 293–322. Amsterdam: Holland Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C. & Loehlin, J. C. (1977) Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 309–322.Google Scholar
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C. & Fulker, D. W. (1988) Nature and Nurture during Infancy and Early Childhood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pogue-Geile, M. F. & Rose, R. J. (1987) Psychopathology: a behaviour genetic perspective. In Family Interaction and Psychopathology: Theories, Methods and Findings (ed. Jacob, F.), pp. 629–650. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, D., Wender, P. H., Kety, S. S., et al (1971) The adopted-away offspring of schizophrenics. American Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 307–311.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, D., Wender, P. H., Kety, S. S., et al (1975) Parent-child relationships and psychopathological disorder in the child. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 466–476.Google Scholar
Scarr, S. & McCartney, K. (1983) How people make their own environments: a theory of genotype-environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424–435.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, E. (1975) Research Diagnostic Criteria. New York: Biometric Research Unit, New York State Department of Mental Hygiene, New York State Psychiatric Institute.Google Scholar
Tienari, P. (1990a) Gene-environment interaction in adoptive families. In Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia (Vol. 2), pp. 126–143. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Tienari, P. (1990b) Genes, family environment or interaction. Findings from an adoption study. In Etiology of Mental Disorder (eds E. Kringlen, N. J. Lavik & S. Torgersen), pp. 33–48. Vindern: University of Oslo.Google Scholar
Tienari, P. (1991a) Cross-fostering. A research strategy for clarifying the role of genetic and experiental factors in the etiology of schizophrenia. In Psychiatry at the Crossroads between Social Science and Biology in Psychiatry at the Crossroads between Social Science and Biology (eds S. Torgersen, P. Abrahamsen & T. Sorensen), pp. 122–133. Oslo: Norwegian University Press.Google Scholar
Tienari, P. (1991b) Interaction between genetic vulnerability and family environment: the Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 84, 460–465.Google Scholar
Tienari, P., Sorri, A., Lahti, I., et al (1985) The Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia. Yale Journal of Biology Medicine, 58, 227–237.Google ScholarPubMed
Tienari, P., Lahti, I., Sorri, A., et al (1987a) The Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia: Possible joint effects of genetic vulnerability and family interaction. In Understanding Major Mental Disorder (eds K. Hahlweg & M. J. Goldstein), pp. 33–54. New York: Family Process Press.Google Scholar
Tienari, P., Sorri, A., Lahti, I., et al (1987b) Genetic and psychosocial factors in schizophrenia: The Finnish adoptive family study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 477–484.Google Scholar
Tienari, P., Lahti, I., Sorri, A., et al (1987c) The Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 21, 437–445.Google Scholar
Tienari, P., Lahti, I., Sorri, A., et al (1989) The Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia: Possible joint effects of genetic vulnerability and family environment. British Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (suppl 5), 29–32.Google Scholar
Tienari, P., Lahti, I., Sorri, A., et al (1990) Adopted-away offspring of schizophrenics and controls. The Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia. In Straight and Devious Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood (eds L. Robins & M. Rutter), pp. 365–379. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wachs, T. D. (1983) The use and abuse of environment in behavior-genetic research. Child Development, 54, 396–407.Google Scholar
Wahlberg, K.-E., Wynne, L. C., Keskitalo, P., et al (1991) Genetic versus environmental Rorschach variables in the Finnish adoptive family study of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 4 (3) (Special Issue): 309.Google Scholar
Wender, P. H., Rosenthal, D. & Kety, S. S. (1968) A psychiatric assessment of the adoptive parents of schizophrenics. In The Transmission of Schizophrenia (eds D. Rosenthal & S. S. Kety), pp. 235–250. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Wender, P. H., Rosenthal, D. & Kety, S. S., et al (1974) Crossfostering: a research strategy for clarifying the role of genetics and experimental factors in the etiology of schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 30, 121–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wender, P. H., Rosenthal, D., Rainer, J. D., et al (1977) Schizophrenics’ adopting parents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34, 777–784.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1974) The Measurement and Classification of Psychiatric Symptoms. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wynne, L. C., Singer, M. T. & Toohey, M. L. (1976) Communication of the adoptive parents of schizophrenics. In Schizophrenia 75 (eds Jorstad, J. & Ugelstad, E.). Oslo: Universitetsf orlaget.Google Scholar
Wynne, L. C., Singer, M. T., Bartko, J. J., et al (1977) Schizophrenics and their families: Research on parental communications. In Developments in Psychiatric Research (ed. M. Tanner), pp. 254–286. London. Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar
Zubin, J. & Spring, B. (1977) Vulnerability – a new view of schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 103–126.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.