Family history as a diagnostic aid in two samples of adolescents

Psychiatric diagnostic patterns were examined in two different samples of adolescents, one a group of psychiatric inpatients and the second youth apprehended by the law for alcohol-related difficulties. Affective disorder in parents was most closely correlated with a similar patient diagnosis or constellation of depressive-type symptoms in both samples of youth. Parental antisocial personalities, alcohol abuse, or drug problems correlated most closely with high levels of similar difficulties in individuals in the two studied groups. However, antisocial, alcohol, or drug problems of a mild degree were present in all subgroups of the two samples, perhaps representing a nonspecific reaction to parental illness or the occurrence of a broken home. A follow-up of future problems in both samples will be carried out to determine the importance of the family history and clinical picture in predicting the future course of problems.