Motor impairment and antisocial behavior in adolescent males at high risk for schizophrenia.
A familial link between schizophrenia and antisocial behavior has been established (e.g., Silverton, 1985). This study examined this relationship in a Danish cohort. The subjects were 36 high-risk males (offspring of a schizophrenic parent) and 36 low-risk males (offspring of parents without psychopathology). This high-risk subjects exhibited more antisocial behavior than the low-risk subjects. We tested the hypothesis of a correlation between neurointegrative deficits, as defined by motor impairment, and antisocial behavior, rated at ages 10-13, in subjects at genetic risk for schizophrenia. Path analyses were conducted from motor impairment at 1 year and motor impairment at 10-13 years to antisocial behavior separately for high-risk and low-risk subjects. Adolescent motor impairment was a significant predictor of antisocial behavior for high-risk subjects. Motor impairment at 1 year was also associated with antisocial behavior for these subjects, although the association was partly due to the indirect effects of motor impairment at 1 year on motor impairment at 10-13 years, which, in turn, was associated with changes in antisocial behavior. As predicted, none of the path coefficients nor the effect coefficient was significant for low-risk subjects.
Silverton
L
L
Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno 89557.
Harrington
M E
ME
Mednick
S A
SA
D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*