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The British Journal of Psychiatry (1970) 116: 409-420. doi: 10.1192/bjp.116.533.409
© 1970 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Birth Rank in Schizophrenia: With a Consideration of the Bias due to Changes in Birth-rate

E. H. HARE M.D., D.P.M.1 and J. S. PRICE D.M., D.P.M.1

1 Bethlem Royal and the Maudsley Hospitals, London, S.E.5

1. Birth rank and family size have been studied in 1,761 schizophrenic patients attending one hospital between 1958 and 1966.

2. Bias in birth-rank distribution, due to changes in birth rate during the period when the patients were born, was allowed for by comparison with 7,270 neurotic patients having the same age distribution, and also by a cohort comparison with 18,642 non-schizophrenic patients.

3. The distribution of sibship sizes in the schizophrenic patients was practically identical with that in the neurotic patients; and for each of the nine cohorts the mean sibship size of schizophrenic was very similar to that of the non-schizophrenic patients.

4. For sibships of 2 to 4 there was a significant difference in birth-rank distribution between schizophrenia and neurosis, the schizophrenics showing a comparative excess of cases in the later birth ranks. A cohort analysis showed a very similar difference between schizophrenia and the group of all non-schizophrenic diagnoses.

5. An examination of previous studies suggests that much of the differences in their findings might be explained in terms of variations in the birth-rate bias at different times and places.

Submitted on January 20, 1969




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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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