Marriage and Fertility Rates of Schizophrenic Patients in Kuwait

Abstract

Forty-nine schizophrenic inpatients and outpatients were compared to 53 patients with affective disorders and to the general population for marriage and fertility rates. Schizophrenic patients showed significantly lower rates of marriage, confirming similar findings in other studies. However, their rates of marital fertility exceeded that of the general population. This is attributed to the increase in community care, short-term hospitalizations and the arranged marriages prevalent in Arab communities. A significant association was found between celibacy in schizophrenics and schizoid premorbid characteristics, affective blunting, and early age of disease onset. Family history, lower educational status, lower occupational status and abortion rate had no significant relationship to the fertility of schizophrenics.