Parents coping with the distress of schizophrenia in their children have been caused further pain, a well-organised campaign would have us believe, by a series of articles in The Observer Magazine which examined the possibility that some parenting methods may actually be the cause of the condition.

In the past few days I have received more than 100 near-identical letters and emails from parents and patients - all of whom had responded to a call from the website of the support group, Rethink, to send a pre-written letter, adding their own experiences if they wished.

'You may have seen a series of articles on schizophrenia by the psychologist Oliver James,' says the website. He 'stated repeatedly that parental neglect and abuse is one of the main causes of schizophrenia in their children.'

The letter pointed out that carers of people with mental illness often make huge personal sacrifices. 'Blaming them only increases misunderstanding about mental illness,' it said.

Nobody would argue with that, but the letter says the articles 'put the responsibility for the onset of schizophrenia squarely at the foot of parents'. I have reread all the pieces and cannot agree with that, but more later. First, let's see what additions readers made to the letter. 'I cannot tell you how much pain my illness has caused those near and dear to me,' wrote a schizophrenia patient from Surrey. 'I believe you should consider your responsibilities before you publish again.'

'In the case of my son, now aged 34, none of your theories fits his profile,' wrote a reader from Staffordshire. 'Brought up by loving parents and with a brother who is three years older, he was an extremely bright child and very easy-going. The illness manifested itself while he was at university and came as a terrible shock when the diagnosis was finally made.'

So, what did Oliver James actually write? In a column headed 'Don't blow your fuse: Positive and negative forces at home impact on a child's mental wellbeing', he said: 'Parents' negativity and tendency to be mystifying were measured in families with problem boys who had not yet developed any signs of schizophrenia.

'Fifteen years later, the more pathological the parents had been in the boys' childhood, the greater their likelihood of being schizophrenic or of having symptoms. Where parents had been neither negative nor mystifying, none of the men had signs of schizophrenia.'

Acknowledging that schizophrenia has a strong genetic component, he quoted a study of children of schizophrenic mothers who were adopted at an early age, and were at risk of developing the condition. If combined with 'mystifying' care during upbringing in the adoptive family, the likelihood was greater. 'So, genes can have an effect, but only if the family environment is of the kind that fulfils schizophrenic potential.'

And here is the nub. Those who have to tackle this distressing condition believe Oliver James's articles only add to their problems. But these are not his theories: they are the fruit of years of study within the profession, and, upsetting as they doubtless appear, they none the less bear examination and discussion. I put this to Oliver James, who replied: 'It is very understandable that parents with schizophrenic children would be upset. However, the campaign against my articles has deliberately misrepresented them by suggesting that I am blaming. Nowhere do I do any such thing. Rather, I am pointing to a number of undeniable facts.

'If 100 schizophrenics had a a genetically identical twin, between three-quarters and one half of the 'Identikits' will not have the illness. In these cases, whatever else may have caused schizophrenia in their twin sibling, it could not have been genes since they have identical genes, The Royal College of Psychiatrists and other researchers have almost all ignored the possibility that family relationships could be the cause in such cases.'

&183; Write to Stephen Pritchard, Readers' Editor,The Observer,119 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3ER, tel 0207713 4656, fax 0207713 4279 or email reader@observer.co.uk