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Poor parenting does not cause schizophrenia
Contrary to the beliefs of professionals prior to the 1970s and to the impression still promoted by the popular media, there is no evidence, even after decades of research, that family or parenting problems cause schizophrenia.
As early as 1948, psychoanalysts proposed that mothers fostered schizophrenia in their offspring through cold and distant parenting. Others blamed parental schisms, and confusing patterns of communication within the family. The double-bind theory, put forward by anthropologist Gregory Bateson, argued that schizophrenia is promoted by contradictory parental messages from which the child is unable to escape. While enjoying broad public recognition, such theories have seldom been adequately tested, and none of the research satisfactorily resolves the question of whether differences found in the families of people with schizophrenia are the cause or the effect of psychological abnormalities in the disturbed family member.
Millions of family members of people with schizophrenia have suffered needless shame, guilt and stigma because of this widespread misconception.
Myth / Poor parenting causes schizophrenia.
Fact / Psychiatrists since Sigmund Freud have regarded the family environment as the key factor in the development of the personality. It seemed clear to many that a disturbed individual must be the product of a disturbed family. Under Freud’s influence, researchers and clinicians identified many traits such as "contradictory expectations" and "covert rejection" which supposedly characterized families of people with schizophrenia. These studies were almost always retrospective; they often lacked controls, and they failed to consider that family tumult might be the result of, rather than the cause of, the presence of a schizophrenic family member.
As late as the 1970s, textbooks still blamed "schizophrenogenic" mothers for causing their children’s illness. Uncounted families have suffered shame, guilt, and stigma as a consequence of the widespread acceptance of such theorizing. No good evidence supports the theory that family environment causes schizophrenia, and very strong evidence supports biological factors as the cause.
Coping with a family member who has schizophrenia is extremely demanding. Many families break up under the strain or abandon their ill family member. Families need empathy and support just as those with schizophrenia do.
Fact / Psychiatrists since Sigmund Freud have regarded the family environment as the key factor in the development of the personality. It seemed clear to many that a disturbed individual must be the product of a disturbed family. Under Freud’s influence, researchers and clinicians identified many traits such as "contradictory expectations" and "covert rejection" which supposedly characterized families of people with schizophrenia. These studies were almost always retrospective; they often lacked controls, and they failed to consider that family tumult might be the result of, rather than the cause of, the presence of a schizophrenic family member.
As late as the 1970s, textbooks still blamed "schizophrenogenic" mothers for causing their children’s illness. Uncounted families have suffered shame, guilt, and stigma as a consequence of the widespread acceptance of such theorizing. No good evidence supports the theory that family environment causes schizophrenia, and very strong evidence supports biological factors as the cause.
Coping with a family member who has schizophrenia is extremely demanding. Many families break up under the strain or abandon their ill family member. Families need empathy and support just as those with schizophrenia do.