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The Relationship between Schizophrenic Patients' Perceptions of Their Parents and the Course of Their Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Richard Warner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Mental Health Center of Boulder County
Monte Atkinson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado
*
Mental Health Center of Boulder County InC., 1333 Iris Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USA

Abstract

Sixty-two schizophrenic patients completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), a measure of perceived parental characteristics, rating their parents on care and protection. PBI ratings were related to a one-year course of illness. Patients who perceived their parents positively tended to experience a milder course of illness if they were in frequent contact with them, and a more severe course if they were not; the reverse was true for patients who perceived their parents negatively. PBI ratings were unrelated to the age at onset of illness. This suggests that patients' perceptions of parental attitudes influence the course of schizophrenia by a current stress effect. The PBI, used alone or in conjunction with other predictors, distinguished good- and poor-outcome cases and appears to be a potentially clinically valuable tool.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

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