Are siblings of schizophrenic individuals psychologically disturbed? A perceptgenetic inquiry

Questions about psychopathology among siblings of schizophrenic individuals were addressed by means of a projective test, the Perceptgenetic Object-Relation Test (PORT), which uses tachistoscopic presentations of 3 object-relation themes: attachment, separation and oedipal. Twenty-two siblings of schizophrenic individuals--10 siblings of patients with recent onset, and 12 siblings of chronic patients--were compared with normal controls and with siblings of mentally handicapped people. Earlier observations of unstable defensive organizations among the siblings of chronic schizophrenic patients were corroborated, particularly in response to the attachment theme. The schizophrenia siblings fell within the narcissistic-borderline spectrum of PORT. The 50% drop-out rate was discussed as reflecting anxiety and evasiveness, and the results were seen as substantiating that siblings of schizophrenic people are structurally if not clinically affected by their sibship.