Gottesman et. al. (2010) Disorders in offspring with two psychiatrically ill parents Flashcards
Design
National-register based cohort study
Sample
2.6 million Danish people born before 1997 with an identifiable link to their mother and father
What was the aim of the study?
To investigate the risk of offspring having a psychiatric disorder when both parents have a disorder
How many couples with both a diagnosis of schizophrenia? How many children?
196 with 270 children
How many couples with one having a diagnosis of schizophrenia? How many children?
8000 couples with 14000 children
Who was the study approved by?
Danish Data Protection Agency
Why was the study approved?
Because all people living in Denmark have a unique identification number, thus no information can lead up to their identification.
What percentage of offspring with both parents being diagnosed with schizophrenia had developed schizophrenia?
27.3% developed schizophrenia before the age of 52.
What percentage of offspring developed a mental disorder when both parents had a mental disorder?
67.5% developed a mental disorder
What percentage of offspring developed schizophrenia when one parent was diagnosed with schizophrenia?
7% developed schizophrenia before the age of 52.
What percentage of offspring developed schizophrenia when neither parents had a diagnosis of schizophrenia?
1% developed schizophrenia before the age of 52.
Conclusions of this study?
Genetic explanation of mental illness is strongly supported.
The role of genetics in the development of schizophrenia are highly influential
How is Gottesman’s study useful?
- Improves the understanding of how genetics can influence the development of mental disorders like schizophrenia.
- Useful for genetic counselling, summing the risks of having children
What are the ethical considerations in Gottesmans’ study?
- Ethical due to the anonymity provided by each Danish citizen having a unique identification number. Identification of individuals was not possible
Evaluate the validity of Gottesman’s study
- high ecological validity due to it being a natural experiment. All of the data was taken from the national register.
- Validity is affected as not every person may seek medical treatment, not being diagnosed
- Factors such as the shared environment and upbringing can affect the development of mental illness