No-Risk Research

Reviews the book, Children at Risk for Schizophrenia: A Longitudinal Perspective edited by Norman F. Watt, E. James Anthony, Lyman C. Wynne, and Jon E. Rolf (1984). This book is a landmark compilation of papers authored by 85 contributors who are trying to fill the glaring gap in our knowledge of the natural history of schizophrenia. It grew out of a conference that was held in 1980 and that was organized by members of the Risk Research Consortium. The strengths of this book lie with the strengths of high-risk research. The Consortium is a model of cooperation, more science should be done in a similar manner. The topic of the book is exciting and should fill a major gap in our knowledge of schizophrenia. There is plenty of discussion about the theories behind the variables chosen for study, but there is a notable lack of theoretical discussion about some basic assumptions used by high-risk researchers. This book is best viewed as an interim report about an exciting and long-overdue exploration of the natural history of schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)