Child competence and psychiatric risk. III. Comparisons based on diagnosis of hospitalized parent.

The school competence of children whose parents were previously hospitalized for psychiatric disorder was studied. These children, at risk themselves for behavioral disorder, were compared to classmates as well as to each other based upon the diagnosis of the hospitalized parent. Four diagnostic groups were employed: narrowly defined schizophrenic, broadly defined schizophrenic, affective psychotic, and hospitalized nonpsychotic patients. Significant differences between the risk sample and classmates are reported along with differences among the diagnostic groups. Sons of nonpsychotic hospitalized patients were functioning most poorly and were in marked defiance of peer and adult norms. Parental and child IQ were found to have had little impact upon the data and were not considered major interactive variables. Issues concerning systems of diagnoses and the developmental implications of the findings are presented.