Abstract

Social functioning deficits during adolescence are associated with later psychiatric morbidity, particularly in offspring at high genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, a shortcoming of earlier study findings is the lack of control of the impact of the family rearing environment. The study was aimed to examine the association of adoptees’ social functioning during adolescence, adoptive family functioning, and adoptees’ high (HR) or low (LR) genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders with adoptees’ later psychiatric morbidity. The present subsample from the nationwide Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia included 57 HR and 60 LR adoptees. Adolescent social functioning was assessed using UCLA Social Attainment Survey (UCLA SAS). Adoptive family functioning was based on Global Family Ratings (GFRs) and psychiatric disorders on DSM-III-R criteria. The results indicated that, after controlling for adoptive family functioning and genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, deficits in peer relationships during adolescence were associated with an increased likelihood of psychiatric morbidity of adoptees. Our findings highlight social functioning deficits during adolescence, specifically in peer relationships, as plausible independent risk factors for later psychiatric disorders. These results can be utilized in identifying possible at-risk groups and targets for prevention and in developing preventive strategies.