title: Measurement of thinking dysfunction. An empirical study.
abstract: This investigation is concerned with the development of a practical method for assessment of thought disorders. A review of eight major textbooks and four review articles revealed 37 different terms used to describe the components of thought disorders. Because of overlap of meanings or ambiguous usage, these terms were reduced to 17 discrete terms that could be operationally defined. Twenty-five psychiatrist were surveyed on the appropriateness of the definitions and their relevance to the concept of thought disorder. An average of 83 per cent agreement was obtained, and some of the definitions were modified as a result of the survey. Eight psychiatrists then applied this scale, titled the Thinking Dysfunction Rating Scale, to the evaluation of five videotaped patient interviews. Based on observation of all five patients, interjudge agreement was over 90 per cent for all items of the scale. Analysis of variance showed that the scale significantly discriminated among schizophrenics, patients with organic brain syndromes, psychotic depressives, geriatric depressives, and outpatients. The patterns of scores were found to vary among these five groups. The scale should be helpful for teaching purposes and as a checklist for routine clinical diagnosis.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000175:diagnosis; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013850:Thinking