title: Schizophrenic patients and their parents. A multimethod design and the findings from an illustrative empirical study of cognitive disorders and communication deviances.
abstract: The research design and main findings from a multimethod research project, in which cognitive disorders in schizophrenic patients and communication deviances in their parents were examined, are presented. Non-paranoid schizophrenics manifested cognitive disturbances on a majority of the variables examined, while paranoid schizophrenics did not. Likewise, parents of non-paranoid schizophrenics revealed significantly more communication deviance than parents of paranoid schizophrenics as well as the control groups (normal and "neurotics"). Egocentrism appeared to be a prominent characteristic of the communication of non-paranoid schizophrenics' parents. Conspicuous among the cognitive deficits in their offspring were attentional disturbances. Support for the existence of a link between the parents' communication and the offsprings' cognitive functioning was found by correlation- and regression analyses.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D003210:Concept Formation; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*; D012564:Schizophrenic Language; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013803:Thematic Apperception Test; D013850:Thinking