SHOULD NON-FEIGHNER SCHIZOPHRENIA BE CLASSIFIED WITH AFFECTIVE-DISORDER

Narrow definitions of schizophrenia increase homogeneity at the expense of leaving unclassified many patients with schizophrenic symptoms. Family history and follow-up studies indicate that many such patients ought to be classified with those having affective disorders. This study determines morbid risks for affective disorder and schizophrenia in first degree relatives of patients with chart but not research diagnoses of schizophrenia. Comparisons with morbid risk figures for relatives of individuals satisfying research criteria for depression, mania or schizophrenia indicate that the 'non-Feighner schizophrenia' group is probably too heterogenous to be classified entirely as affective disorder or as schizophrenia. © 1979.