LONDON -- Unemployment and early separation from both parents may be key factors behind the higher rates of schizophrenia in British African-Caribbeans, research suggests, IRNA quoted.

Rates of schizophrenia are up to twice as high among this sector of the population, according to the BBC News On-line.

The study by the Center for Caribbean Medicine at King's College London suggests the main reasons may be social.

The researchers compared rates of schizophrenia among African-Caribbeans in London with those in Trinidad and Barbados.

They found that the rate was much higher in the UK - strongly suggesting that social, rather than genetic factors played an important role.

They went on to find that UK African-Caribbeans who had been separated from one or both parents for four years or more during childhood were more likely to develop schizophrenia.

A similar link was also seen with unemployment in British Afro-Caribbeans.