Vulnerability to depressive and schizophrenic disorders--conference report.

A conference was held to foster improved research on vulnerability to psychiatric disorder. By bringing together groups studying vulnerability to depression and those studying vulnerability to schizophrenia, commonalities and differences across these two fields were clarified, and research approaches and problems were shared. Five major areas of particular importance were covered: (1) diagnosis and the assessment of function and intermediate clinical states, (2) statistical analysis and project design, (3) personality and family variables, (4) biochemical and physiological markers, and (5) comparison of vulnerability to schizophrenia and depression: models of causation and possibilities for collaborative research. Potential directions for increasing progress in the important area of vulnerability research were outlined.