Gender and Schizophrenia: An Introduction and Synthesis of Findings

Abstract

The last 10 years of schizophrenia research have indicated a renewed interest in understanding gender differences in schizophrenia. The purpose of this special edition of the Schizophrenia Bulletin is to bring together recent research on gender and schizophrenia across a variety of substantive domains of interest in the study of schizophrenia. Gender differences in schizophrenia have been found in the areas of premorbid history, symptomatology, brain morphology, brain functioning, neurochemistry, family transmission, course, and treatment response. The findings are not necessarily consistent across studies, and the diagnostic specificity of the gender effects must still be addressed. This article introduces the studies presented in this issue, attempts to address some of the inconsistencies, and provides a brief synthesis of findings and directions for future research.