Family History Study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder With Secondary Psychotic Symptoms

OBJECTIVE: A family history approach was used to determine if posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with secondary psychotic symptoms was associated with a familial vulnerability to schizophrenia and other psychoses. METHOD: Family history methods were used to compare rates of familial psychopathology in the first-degree relatives of three proband groups: 1) patients with DSM-IV PTSD with secondary psychotic symptoms, 2) patients with DSM-IV PTSD without psychotic symptoms, and 3) healthy matched comparison subjects. RESULTS: PTSD with secondary psychotic symptoms was not associated with an excess of familial psychotic disorder but was associated with a higher morbid risk for depression. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD with secondary psychotic symptoms was not associated with familial psychosis, suggesting it does not reflect the presence of an underlying psychotic disorder.