The book, TRAPPED: Families and Schizophrenia, describes in detail a research project undertaken by sociologists Rogler and Hollingshead on a sample of schizophrenic and "well" families among the lowest socioeconomic strata in San Juan, PR. The research questions for which the authors sought answers, were (1) Is the life history of a person who develops schizophrenia markedly different from one who does not? (2) When and under what conditions do symptoms become evident to the afflicted person, his family, and his associates? and (3) What are the procreative effects of schizophrenia on the family?
In order to answer these difficult questions the authors have designed a careful piece of social science research. They did a considerable amount of field study prior to the beginning of the research, trained interviewers, and selected the study population. The group which was finally selected consisted of 20 "sick"