Retrospective studies of schizophrenia are problematic. Discuss the problems inherent in this design and the prospective methodology used in the Danish study presented in the text that helps overcome these limitations

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Retrospective studies require that patients report their histories before developing a disorder. The cognitive limitations of people suffering from schizophrenia may limit their ability to recall premorbid functioning accurately. In addition, parents’ recall of an adult child’s early history may be affected by his or her more recent behaviors. Thus, any recollection of previous events may be biased by the current illness.
In the Danish study, youths were videotaped under standardized conditions while having lunch in the school cafeteria. Observers rated the children’s behavior along the dimensions of sociability, involuntary movements, and general neuromotor signs. Nineteen years later, when the participants were between the ages of 31 and 33, they were interviewed by persons unaware of their earlier behavioral ratings. Twenty-six children had developed schizophrenia. Their earlier behaviors were compared with adults who had no disorder. When compared with both groups, adults with schizophrenia were significantly less sociable when they were children. Furthermore, when compared with people who had a different psychiatric diagnosis, people who developed schizophrenia had more subtle general neuromotor abnormalities as children.