With a sample of a large number of schizophrenic and alcoholic patients and an appropriate control group, the writers correlate admission to the hospital and parental death in childhood, most frequently found in schizophrenics admitted to the hospital between the ages of twenty and forty. The older schizophrenics and alcoholics did not differ significantly from the control group. The hypothesis is advanced that role transition from immaturity to adult responsibility is more difficult when there is a death causing a traumatic deficit in parental protection during childhood.