[Child rearing style, social behavior dimensions and severity of schizophrenic illness]

In a sample of 53 schizophrenic patients, perceived parental rearing attitudes were rated with the EMBU inventory, the quality of relationship to key relatives was measured with the AfS, and social anxiety was assessed with the U-Scale. The values obtained were intercorrelated and compared with selected parameters for disease severity: age at first hospital admission, number of treated episodes, and duration of inpatient treatment. The results show that disease parameters rather than parental rearing behaviour determine the quality of contact with key relatives. Rearing patterns more likely influence the age at first hospital admission and social anxiety. The findings further suggest that, considering the length of "face-to-face" contact, the quality of the relationships between the schizophrenic patients and their key relatives is likely to be associated with the duration of inpatient treatment. The results of the explorative study confirm the importance of family intervention programmes.