The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 189: 337-345. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.016998
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Psychopathology, personality traits and social development of young first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia

STEPHEN J. GLATT, PhD

Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego and Veterans Medical Research Foundation, San Diego, California

WILLIAM S. STONE, PhD

Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts

STEPHEN V. FARAONE, PhD

Medical Genetics Research Program and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York

LARRY J. SEIDMAN, PhD

Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts

MING T. TSUANG, MD, PhD

Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California and Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Correspondence: Stephen J. Glatt, Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 920923, USA. Email: sglatt{at}ucsd.edu

Declaration of interest None.

Background Evaluation of individuals at high genetic risk of schizophrenia is a powerful method for identifying precursors of the illness.

Aims To identify aspects of personality, psychopathology and social development that differentiate high-risk and control individuals.

Method Adolescent and young-adult first-degree relatives (n=35) of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and a control group (n=55) were compared on 36 measures at baseline of a longitudinal study. Measures differentiating high-risk and control participants were related to four genetic loading indices.

Results High-risk participants older than 17 years showed more physical anhedonia, less positive involvement with peers and more problems with peers, siblings and the opposite gender. Older high-risk individuals also were less cooperative, less self-directed and less reward-dependent. Problems with peers and the opposite gender, as well as reward dependence, were related linearly to genetic loading.

Conclusions Alterations in personality traits and social development are present in high-risk individuals, and may be markers for genetic liability toward the illness.




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