Recently a number of studies have indicated that a closer analysis of the associated family dynamics may make an important contribution to the understanding of schizophrenia.2,4,5,7,8 This viewpoint has for the most part been an outgrowth of the increasing use of psychotherapy in hospitals: as attempts have been made to coordinate treatment programs on a psychosocial level, the observations of personnel concerning the patient's intimates have been given increasing weight and in some instances treatment has been modified so as to focus on the family as a unit rather than on the individual patient. The material gathered has in turn come to serve as a focus of research, so that at present the search for generalizations concerning the mode of pathology characteristic of families of schizophrenics is now well underway. With a few exceptions, such studies have been carried out by psychiatrists