| Abstract: | Tested the usefulness of a measure of thought disorder, the Thought Disorder Index (TDI), for assessing those other than White middle-class patients. The TDI is based on deviant language patterns. 101 hospitalized schizophrenic patients, first-degree relatives of schizophrenics, and normal controls were compared on TDI scores by social class, race, and diagnosis. There were 53 White and 48 Black Ss. TDI scores accurately distinguished among the 3 psychiatric categories for both Black and White subgroups. Normal language patterns of Black and lower-class people are clearly distinguishable from those conveying instances of thought slippage and those occurring in psychotic patients and in their parents. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
