title: The German translation and validation of the scale for the assessment of thought, language and communication: a factor analytic study.
abstract: The Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC) represents an instrument for the assessment of formal thought disorder (FTD). The factorial dimensionality of the TLC has yielded ambiguous results for a distinction between positive (e.g. circumstantiality) and negative (e.g. poverty of speech) FTD. The purpose of the current study was to first translate and validate the TLC scale in German. Second, the internal structure was explored in order to identify different FTD dimensions. Two hundred and ten participants (146 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses: depression n = 63, schizophrenia n = 63, mania n = 20; 64 healthy subjects) were interviewed and FTD was rated with the TLC. The principal component analysis of the German TLC version revealed a 3-factor solution, reflecting a disorganized factor, an emptiness factor and a linguistic control factor. The current investigation yielded similar results to those originally reported for the TLC. Thus, a distinction between a positive disorganized, a negative and a semantic word level factor can be supported for the German translation.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
authors: Arne
authors: A
authors: Nagels
authors: Mirjam
authors: M
authors: Stratmann
authors: Sayed
authors: S
authors: Ghazi
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Schales
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Frauenheim
authors: Lena
authors: L
authors: Turner
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Fährmann
authors: Tobias
authors: T
authors: Hornig
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Katzev
authors: Rüdiger
authors: R
authors: Müller-Isberner
authors: Axel
authors: A
authors: Krug
authors: Tilo
authors: T
authors: Kircher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D014177:Translations