Distractibility in children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Children of schizophrenics (n = 36), unipolars (« = 57), bipolars (« = 60), and normals (n = 65) were evaluated on a digit span measure of distractibility with the distraction and nondistraction conditions matched for discriminating power. Whereas there were no between-groups differences in performance in the nondistraction condition, children of schizophrenics and unipolars performed more poorly than children of normal parents in the distraction condition. Analyses of serial position curves revealed that children of schizophrenics performed more poorly on primacy as compared to recency portions of distraction trials. This finding differentiated children with a schizophrenic parent from children in each of the other groups. These results indicate that children of schizophrenics have a deficit in controlled information processing.