Language and conversation are deeply interrelated: language is acquired, structured, practiced in social interactions and linguistic resources (specifically syntactic, prosodic and pragmatic aspects) contribute to finely tuning turn-taking. Nevertheless, most studies focused on verbal aspects of speech in schizophrenia, with scant attention to their relation to conversation, where language is experienced at most.

The present study was aimed at investigating a possible association between language impairment and conversational characteristics in a sample of clinically stable patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 35, ages 18-65).

A spontaneous speech sample was recorded. For the assessment of language skills, the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC) and the Clinical Language Disorder Rating Scale (CLANG) were used, while conversational variables were extracted with an innovative method of semi-automatic analysis. The possible associations were investigated through the Pearson Correlation.

Figure 1 represents graphically the correlational matrix between conversational variables and linguistic scale scores. In the heatmap, blue means negative and red positive correlations, the stronger the colour, the larger the correlation magnitude. Moreover, the significant associations are indicated with stars.

The results suggest that in schizophrenia spectrum disorders the disturbances of language, at a syntactic, prosodic and pragmatic level, have significant impact on communicative interaction.

Thus, conversation analysis might be a promising method to quantify objectively communicative impairment with the benefit of representing an ecological assessment, examining the performance of patients in the real situation of language use, which is social interaction.

No significant relationships.

Patients with schizophrenia show severe difficulties in interpersonal communication, including impairments in conversation skills, like the turn-taking. To our knowledge, very few studies to date have taken into account conversation analysis in order to investigate turn-taking in schizophrenia patients.

To investigate the conversational patterns in schizophrenia patients; to assess possible associations between dialogic features, abnormal subjective experiences and symptom dimensions.

Thirty-six patients with Schizophrenia underwent an interview, subsequently analyzed with an innovative semi-automatic analysis. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was adopted for the investigation of psychopathology and Examination of Anomalous Self Experience (EASE) for Self-Disorders.

Dialogic exchanges are graphically represented in Figure 1. An inverse correlation was found between participant speaking time and PANSS negative symptoms score (r = -0.44, p value < 0.05; Figure 2), whereas no associations were found between conversational variables and PANSS positive or disorganization dimensions. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the EASE item “spazialization of thought” and average pause duration (r = 0.42, p value < 0.05).

The finding of a relationship between negative symptoms and conversational patterns suggest that conversational features in schizophrenia are expression of the “core” negative dimension of the disorder. The association with the phenomenon of thought spatialization seems to suggest that the disturbances of the stream of consciousness impact on natural dialogic interactions. Ultimately, conversation analysis seems a promising tool to study dialogic exchanges of patients with schizophrenia.

No significant relationships.