| Abstract: | Compared 20 thought-disordered (TD) manics and schizophrenics (mean age 31 yrs) to 20 manic and schizophrenic patients (mean age 31.25 yrs) without thought disorder (NTD) and to 10 normal Ss (mean age 30.9 yrs) normal on the rating scales of cohesion and reference performance in speech developed by S. R. Rochester and J. R. Martin (1979). TD manics and schizophrenics differed from NTD Ss and the normal group in their more frequent use of unclear references as well as in their less frequent use of effective cohesion and reference strategies. Speech elements of the TD Ss were classified into disordered and nondisordered segments, and the same natural language analysis was completed for each category of speech segments. Nondisordered speech segments of TD Ss were quite similar to the overall speech performance of NTD Ss and the normal group. There were no cohesion or reference performance differences between TD manics and TD schizophrenics in their disordered speech segments. Findings are interpreted as validation of the usefulness of the Rochester and Martin rating system for identifying aspects of speech performance that are related to clinically rated thought disorder. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
