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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
A summary of attentional findings in the New York High-Risk Project
L Erlenmeyer-Kimling1, B A Cornblatt
1Department of Medical Genetics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York 10032.
Insights
Children with attention deficits whose parents have schizophrenia may be at higher risk for developing the disorder. These attention problems can serve as an early indicator of genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Genetics
Background:
- The New York High-Risk Project (NYHRP) has followed individuals from childhood to adulthood.
- Understanding early indicators of schizophrenia is crucial for early intervention and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate attentional performance in offspring of parents with schizophrenia, affective illness, and no psychiatric history.
- To examine the link between childhood attentional deficits and later psychopathology.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking individuals from childhood to adulthood over two decades.
- Analysis of childhood attentional performance in independent samples.
- Correlation of early attentional dysfunction with adolescent and adult psychopathological outcomes.
Main Results:
- Individuals with a parental history of schizophrenia exhibited attentional impairments from childhood.
- Early attentional deficits were significantly associated with the development of psychopathology in adulthood.
- These findings were consistent across two independent samples.
Conclusions:
- Global attentional dysfunctions in childhood are a potential biobehavioral marker for genetic liability to schizophrenia.
- Early identification of attentional problems may aid in predicting schizophrenia risk.
Abstract:
We summarize here our findings with respect to attentional impairment among offspring of schizophrenic, affectively ill, and normal parents followed from childhood to adulthood during the two decades of the New York High-Risk Project (NYHRP). We review our data first, on childhood attentional performance in each of our two independent samples of such subjects and, second, on the relationship of early dysfunctions observed in this domain to psychopathological outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Our cumulative results contribute strong support to the contention that global attentional dysfunctions may be viewed as a biobehavioral marker for the genetic liability to schizophrenic disorders.
