This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

I. Clinical Assessment, Definition of Terms, and Evaluation of Their Reliability

Nancy C. Andreasen, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1979;36(12):1315-1321.

Abstract
• Bleulerian psychiatry has considered thought disorder to be a pathognomonic symptom of schizophrenia. Evaluation of the Bleulerian perspective has been severely handicapped by the lack of any standard and widely agreed-on definition of thought disorder. Consequently, the conceptualization of thought disorder has tended to be quite diverse, and evaluation of thought disorder has tended to be quite unreliable. This report presents a set of definitions of linguistic and cognitive behaviors frequently observed in patients. These definitions derive from clinical experience, use an empirical approach, and avoid making inferences about underlying processes of thought. They attempt to define the broad range of language, thought, and communication behaviors observed in patients and are not limited to those considered characteristic of schizophrenia. The reliability of these definitions has been assessed using both tape-recorded and live interviews with patients, and it has been found to be quite good for most of the terms defined.

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Sept 20, 1978.

Reprint requests to Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, 500 Newton Rd, Iowa City, IA 52242 (Dr Andreasen).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Neural Evidence for Faster and Further Automatic Spreading Activation in Schizophrenic Thought Disorder
Kreher et al.
Schizophr Bull 2008;34:473-482.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Semantic priming in schizophrenia: systematic review and meta-analysis
Pomarol-Clotet et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2008;192:92-97.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Does ketamine mimic aspects of schizophrenic speech?
Covington et al.
J Psychopharmacol 2007;21:338-346.
ABSTRACT  

Language in Psychiatry: A Handbook of Clinical Practice
NESS
Am. J. Psychiatry 2007;164:354-354.
FULL TEXT  

Increased Temporal and Prefrontal Activity in Response to Semantic Associations in Schizophrenia
Kuperberg et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2007;64:138-151.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

DSM and the Death of Phenomenology in America: An Example of Unintended Consequences
Andreasen
Schizophr Bull 2007;33:108-112.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Cognitive Origins of Specific Types of Schizophrenic Speech Disturbances
Docherty et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2006;163:2111-2118.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Ordered thoughts on thought disorder
Rule
The Psychiatrist 2005;29:462-464.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Longitudinal Course of Thought Disorder in Geriatric Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia
Bowie et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2005;162:793-795.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disintegration of the components of language as the path to a revision of Bleuler's and Schneider's concepts of schizophrenia: Linguistic disturbances compared with first-rank symptoms in acute psychosis
CECCHERINI-NELLI and CROW
Br. J. Psychiatry 2003;182:233-240.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Semantic Dysfunction in Women With Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Niznikiewicz et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 2002;159:1767-1774.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thought and Language Index: an instrument for assessing thought and language in schizophrenia
LIDDLE et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2002;181:326-330.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

N400 and Automatic Semantic Processing Abnormalities in Patients With Schizophrenia
Mathalon et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2002;59:641-648.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Twin study of symptom dimensions in psychoses
CARDNO et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2001;179:39-45.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disordered Discourse in Schizophrenia Described by the Structure Building Framework
GERNSBACHER et al.
Discourse Studies 1999;1:355-372.
ABSTRACT  

Dorsal Striatal Size, Shape, and Metabolic Rate in Never-Medicated and Previously Medicated Schizophrenics Performing a Verbal Learning Task
Shihabuddin et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998;55:235-243.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thought Disorder in Schizophrenic and Control Adoptees and Their Relatives
Kinney et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997;54:475-479.
ABSTRACT  

Communication Disturbances in Schizophrenia and Mania
Docherty et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:358-364.
ABSTRACT  

Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Methods, Meanings, and Mechanisms
Andreasen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995;52:341-351.
ABSTRACT  

A Longitudinal Study of Symptom Dimensions in Schizophrenia: Prediction and Patterns of Change
Arndt et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995;52:352-360.
ABSTRACT  

Positive and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Critical Reappraisal
Andreasen et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47:615-621.
ABSTRACT  

Thought Disorder in the Relatives of Psychotic Patients
Shenton et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46:897-901.
ABSTRACT  

Computer Simulations of Neural Information Processing and the Schizophrenia-Mania Dichotomy
Hoffman
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987;44:178-188.
ABSTRACT  

A Comparative Study of Manic vs Schizophrenic Speech Disorganization
Hoffman et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986;43:831-838.
ABSTRACT  

Thought, Language, Communication, and Affective Flattening in Autistic Adults
Rumsey et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1986;43:771-777.
ABSTRACT  

Thought Disorder: The Measurement of Its Changes
Hurt et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983;40:1281-1285.
ABSTRACT  

Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: Definition and Reliability
Andreasen
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:784-788.
ABSTRACT  

Negative v Positive Schizophrenia: Definition and Validation
Andreasen and Olsen
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982;39:789-794.
ABSTRACT  

Thought, Language, and Communication Disorders: II. Diagnostic Significance
Andreasen
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1979;36:1325-1330.
ABSTRACT