The family interview.

Abstract

Families of study children were interviewed, with a focus on parents' observations of the personality and behavior of their offspring. The family interview was also the primary source of information about the home environment and possible psychopathology in nonschizophrenic parents. By parental report, index children were more likely than controls to have developed psychopathological symptoms related to mood, social withdrawal, antisocial behavior, eating, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Traits of self-esteem, adaptability, reliability, and degree of task orientation were more poorly developed in index than control subjects. Index subjects also tended to have poorer relationships with both peers and family members. While boys and girls showed similar patterns of psychopathology, boys tended to have somewhat higher levels of impairment. No differences or interactions due to type of rearing were found.