Sarnoff A. Mednick
Sarnoff A. Mednick (January 27, 1928 – April 10, 2015) was an American psychologist who pioneered long-term, prospective studies to understand what causes mental disorders, especially schizophrenia. He explored creativity, psychopathy, alcoholism, and suicide in schizophrenia and argued that mental illness often arises from a mix of genetic factors and early environmental influences. He was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, where he remained active well into his eighties. Mednick was among the first to revisit the genetic basis of mental disorders after the era of eugenics and received the Joseph Zubin Award in 1996, with more than 300 published papers.
Mednick earned his Ph.D. at Northwestern University under Benton J. Underwood. He taught at Harvard University and later the University of Michigan, where he conducted verbal learning experiments and other cross-sectional studies. Dissatisfied with cross-sectional methods, he and his student Thomas McNeil proposed the high-risk study: following the children of women with schizophrenia, who are far more likely to develop the disorder. He helped establish a Danish study using national records to track subjects over time, beginning in 1962.
The high-risk work yielded important findings. It showed that brain changes seen on scans and very low birthweight predicted worse outcomes, supporting the idea that schizophrenia involves an interaction between genetics and early environment. The research highlighted prenatal and perinatal factors and suggested the disease begins in the brain with roots in early development. Mednick also contributed to research on creativity and other paths to mental illness, and he collaborated on studies showing a genetic component to antisocial behavior.
Mednick was born in the Bronx to immigrant Jewish parents and had four children: Amy, Lisa, Sara, and Thor. He was married to Martha Mednick and later to Birgitte Mednick. He died in Toledo, Ohio.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:01 (CET).