I know that there are certain diseases that are predominant on genes. But, is there any sort of surety that if parents are suffering from a disorder then their offspring has to suffer from the same. Like my dad is schizophrenic so will I become the victim of the same mental disorder?
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just like any genetically affected traits (e.g. height), there is on average greater resemblance between parents and offspring than between two randomly chosen people. If a parent has a genetically controlled disease there is an increased likelihood of it developing in the children but it is by no means a guarantee (even for dominant mendelian traits if mutation occurs). Few things are entirely genetically determined. – rg255 Apr 09 '15 at 11:00
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In the case of schizophrenia, it has always been evident that there is a genetic factor. However it has not been identified. More recent hypotheses suggest epigenetic mechanisms. Meaning the trait can be inherited, but is very sensitive to short-term environmental changes. – Sleepses Apr 09 '15 at 13:36
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4Welcome to Biology.SE. Your question reveals that you probably don't know the concepts of Mendelian segregation/dominance/additivity/pleiotropy and epistasis. You should check out those terms on wikipedia. Also You will probably want to increase your understanding of heritability. Here is an answer that link to 4 other posts that talk about heritability. – Remi.b Apr 09 '15 at 14:24