The evaluation of verbal fluency as a marker of primary communicative deficit in the first episode of schizophrenia

Abstract

This paper analyzes some dimensions of verbal fluency in a sample of 50 clinical interviews conducted with people diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia and first episode, from the perspective of clinical linguistics applied to psychiatry. We propose to determine if there are differences in the verbal fluidity dimensions studied between both groups of patients. In this way, in order to assess whether it constitutes a marker of primary linguistic deficit, we intend to verify the relationship between verbal fluency, clinical diagnosis and the stage of the disease. Firstly, the analysis of the data shows that it is possible to observe the early deterioration of verbal fluency in people with first episode of schizophrenia. In the second place, the variable clinical stage of the disease presents a greater statistical significance; therefore, it is possible to consider that the deterioration of verbal fluency is a primary marker of the pragmalinguistic deficit for schizophrenia.