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The Problem of Birth Order and Schizophrenia: A Negative Conclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

L. Erlenmeyer-Kimling
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Genetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032
Elyse Van den Bosch
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Genetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032
Bruce Denham
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Genetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032 University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Extract

A possible association between birth order and schizophrenia has been sought by a number of investigators. The question considered as early as 1916 by Rüdin has not been resolved satisfactorily since; late birth order has been indicated in some samples of patients (e.g. Granville-Grossman, 1966; Schooler, 1964), early birth order in others (e.g. Solomon and Nuttall, 1966; Sundararaj and Rao, 1966) and an absence of any birth order effect has been reported for still other samples (e.g. Burton and Bird, 1963; Gregory, 1959; Smith and McIntyre, 1963).

Type
Birth Order
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1969 

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