Grammatical Processing in Schizoprenia: Analysis on Sentence Structure

Abstract

Objective. Language disorder is one of the most significant symptom domains that characterizes Schizophrenia Disorder. The aim of the present study carried out considering language deviations is to investigate and compare the schizophrenic patients’ and control group’s speech in terms of sentence structure. Materials and Methods. The sample of the study consists of 50 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4 (DSM-4) and 50 healthy subjects matched with these patients by age, gender and educational level. The narrative skills of the subjects in the study were evaluated with four oral expression tests, which were narrative picture test, story picture sequencing test, semi-structured speech test, and free speech test. Results. As a result of the statistical and linguistic analyses, significant differences were found between sentence types’ of schizophrenic patients’ and control group’s speech. Considering the use of simple sentences, it was revealed that patients with schizophrenia used more simple sentences than the control group in all tests. On the contrary, when complex and compound sentences were examined, patients with schizophrenia used less complex and compound sentences than the control group in all tests. Conclusion. The linguistics deviations found from the study are thought to be due to the schizophrenic thought disorder’s four relatively independent components: delusion; intrinsic thinking disturbance; formal thought disorder; and deficient real-world knowledge – a new concept.