Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:1077-1083
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
A multidimensional approach to the genetics of schizophrenia
RH Dworkin, MF Lenzenweger, SO Moldin, GF Skillings and SE Levick
Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.
To determine which dimensions of psychopathology are associated with a
greater liability to develop schizophrenia, the authors examined the case
histories of 151 monozygotic probands from five twin studies. Proband twins
from pairs concordant for schizophrenia had greater numbers of negative
symptoms, poorer premorbid adjustment, fewer paranoid symptoms, and earlier
ages at onset than probands from discordant pairs. In discriminant
analyses, negative symptoms, premorbid social competence, and paranoid
symptoms each contributed to the discrimination between concordant and
discordant pairs. These results provide support for Strauss et al.'s
suggestion that these three types of symptoms reflect three different
functional processes in the development of schizophrenia.
