Abstract. Background: The purpose of the study is to investigate the correlation between the results of 4 cognitive tests and the years of parental education and to analyze their impact on cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia. Subjects and Methods: 76 inpatients with schizophrenia (44 males, 32 females) were assessed with 4 cognitive tests – Trail making test A (TMT-A), Trail making test B (TMT-B), Digit symbol test (DST) and Verbal fluency test (VFT). Results were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and the par al correlation method for controlling the influence of one factor on the correlation between two variables. Results: Higher number of years of parental education have stronger positive influence on the cognitive performance of patients with schizophrenia. For both mothers and fathers this positive influential correlation reaches statistical significance for two cognitive tests – TMT-B (p < .006 and p < .016, respectively), VFT (p < .028 and p < .022, respectively) and for DST reaches statistical significance for mothers (p < .034) and is on the threshold of statistical significance for fathers (p < .070). Only TMT-A has no statistically significant correlations. These general pa erns of tendencies of parental education as a factor correlated to cognitive performance in offspring are retained even a er controlling subject’s age and years of education. Conclusions: More years of parental education are associated with higher cognitive results in patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords: schizophrenia, cognitive assessment, parental education

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