(University of Southern California DailyTrojan)
By JACQUELINE LEE
Contributing Writer
Children with better nutrition, regulated exercise and a more
nurturing educational experience are less likely to develop
schizotypal personality disorder, a disorder that marks the
stage before schizophrenia, according to a 20-year study led
by a USC professor.
The study, conducted by Adrian Raine, a professor of psychology
and neuroscience, was the first ever to research how to prevent
the disorder rather than just treat it. The results were published
in the September issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.
"I've had some cases of mental illness in my family,"
said Sarnoff A. Mednick, director of the social science research
institute and a professor in psychology. "Schizophrenia
is a major problem in the world. We started this study 20 years
ago to determine earlier characteristics of this disorder so
that we could prevent it from happening to people."
Mednick and Peter Venables, another professor, started the
research study in 1972. Raine took over the project in 1987
because he was interested in narrowing down the research and
testing specific components as causes of the disorder.
In the study, a group of 438 children from the island of Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean, ranging in ages three to five, were volunteered
to participate in the study.
"Mauritius is the ideal location because of its geographical
and social advantage," Raine said. "Very few people
come and leave from Mauritius, which is good for our research
purposes. Imagine keeping track of 400 3-year-olds in Los Angeles,
and try to see where they are a decade or two later. It would
be impossible."
The children were randomly divided into two groups: 83 children
were assigned to be in the environmental-enriched group, while
355 children were designated the control group.
For two years, the environmental-enriched group received better
nutrition, regulated exercise and a more nurturing educational
experience. The group was given regular hot meals consisting
of fish, mutton or chicken, a green salad, and milk. The control
group ate the typical island meal of bread and rice.
The environmental-enriched group exercised for two and a half
hours, while the control group did not have exercise as a part
of their school life besides regular free play.
The type of education received by the two groups also differed
greatly. The tested group had an emphasis on verbal skills,
building a stronger memory, concepts of love and basic behavior
of society.
After two years, both groups were released to function in normal
societal life. The groups were evaluated when they reached ages
17 and 23 to compare the criminal and social records.
At age 17, the enriched group had a 32 percent reduction of
schizotypal personality traits and a 28 percent reduction in
anti-social behavior problems compared to the control group.
At age 23, the enriched group had a 35 percent reduction of
schizotypal behavior and a 64 percent reduction in anti-social
behavior.
"The experiment needs to be replicated in other areas
around the world in order for us to absolutely determine whether
schizophrenia stems from environmental factors," Raine
said. "We haven't solved it, but now we have insight. The
research suggests that schizophrenia has its origins early in
life and is due to proper nutrition, exercise and a nurturing
education environment."
The World Health Organization (WHO), the United States National
Institute of Health and the Mauritius government funded the
study.
WHO was interested in researching child development in a developing
country, Raine said.
"Only 1 percent of the population has schizophrenia. What
is more common, however, is schizotypal personality disorder,
which the study is based on," Raine said. "Schizotypal
personality disorder is the preliminary stage of schizophrenia,
and about 5 percent of the population has traits of a schizotypal
personality. "
There are nine traits of a schizotypal personality; a person
who possesses five out of these nine traits is diagnosed as
schizophrenic, Raine said.
People who are schizophrenic may see an accident and strongly
believe that they somehow caused it. They may have odd beliefs
in things such as UFOs, tarot cards or their sixth sense.
Schizophrenics tend to lack close friends, have an eccentric
appearance and have blunted emotional expression.
Other characteristics of schizophrenics include people who
believe they have perceptual experiences, odd thinking and speech
patterns, strong paranoia and excessive anxiousness.
"My friend's mom was schizophrenic. She used to check
her backyard constantly for people parachuting onto her property,"
said Daniel Kilpatrick, a junior majoring in psychology.
"When my friend's family went to Hawaii, she wouldn't
leave the hotel room for two weeks because she was reading death
threats and license plates."
Although cases of schizophrenia in the population are rare,
the disorder affects society in other ways.
"USC students should be aware of schizophrenia because
statistics show that most people become schizophrenic between
the ages of 18 to 21," Raine said.
"As young adults on the verge of developing families of
their own, it would be vital for them to know how schizophrenia
may be prevented if they decide to have children."