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Communicability and Thought Disorder in Schizophrenics and Other Diagnostic Groups

A Follow-up Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. Barnett Ragin  and
T. F. Oltmanns
A. Barnett Ragin*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA
T. F. Oltmanns
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA
*
∗Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201, USA
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Abstract

To evaluate qualitative differences in the nature of thought disorder, the ‘cloze’ procedure and the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication were used to compare speech samples from schizophrenic, depressive, manic, schizo-affective and normal subjects at two different times. At the acute phase, thought-disordered subjects (schizophrenics, manics and schizo-affectives) were less communicable than non-thought-disordered subjects (depressives and normals). Communicability increased with remission of the more flagrant features of disturbance. Comparison of the thought-disordered diagnostic groups in the rate and pattern of remission of specific features of thought disorder indicated that factors reflecting goal-disrupted cognition distinguished the groups.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 150 , Issue 4 , April 1987 , pp. 494 - 500
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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