Predictability of speech and language in Nigerian patients with psychosis: a controlled study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the predictability of speeches of Nigerian patients with psychosis compared with healthy controls and to examine the factors correlating with the speeches of patients with psychosis. The speeches of 52 patients with psychosis (schizophrenia = 22, depression with psychosis = 16, mania with psychosis = 14) and 52 matched healthy controls were examined using the Cloze technique. The speeches of patients with psychosis were significantly less predictable than those of healthy controls. The presence of formal thought disorder and the diagnosis of schizophrenia showed significant correlations with the poor predictability of the speeches of patients with psychosis. The impairment of speeches of patients with psychosis cut across cultures. Further research will be needed to determine if predictability of speech can be of use in the diagnosis of psychiatric patients.