Verbal Language Dysfunction in People with Schizophrenia: Implications for Psychotherapy and Mental Health

Abstarct:
Purpose. This article aims to analyze the forms of verbal language dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia and their relative dominance, thereby identifying factors influencing these differences in dominance.
Methods. This study used data from verbal interactions with schizophrenia patients in the residual and hebephrenic phases who were treated at two psychiatric hospitals, namely RSJ Prof. H.B. Saanin, Padang, and RS Dr. Soeharto Heerdjan, Jakarta. These two hospitals represent the contexts of regional and urban areas. The data were analyzed using theories of language dysfunction in psycholinguistics by Andreasen, Nugroho, as well as the semantic theory by Cruse.
Result. The results of the study show ten forms of verbal language dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia, namely incoherence, blocking (Hemmung), Sperrung, neologism, repetition, word salad, and language anomalies including improbability, dissonance, and pleonasm. The most dominant form of verbal language dysfunction in both hospitals was incoherence. In addition, improbability was more noticeable at RSJ Prof. H.B. Saanin, while neologism was more dominant at RS Dr. Soeharto Heerdjan. This difference in dominance is influenced by patients’ social, environmental, and linguistic backgrounds.
Conclusions. Verbal language dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia is not only related to disturbances in thought content but also reflects disruptions in the language system at the semantic, lexical, and grammatical levels, which interact with the patients’ socio-cultural context.