The figurative language test: an instrument for thw assessment of concretism in schizophrenic patients

Abstract

Background: Concretism is a recognized formal thought disorder of schizophrenia, which has been studied clinically by proverb interpretation. To avoid the shortcomings of oral proverbs, there have been developed tests with multiple choice format, which have the advantage of avoiding the disparity of criteria and simplifying its application. In the absence of an equivalent test in Spanish, it is of interest to elaborate a test of this type to be used for clinical and research purposes. Method: the test consists of ten idioms and ten proverbs, each with four possible answers (one  correct, abstract). Thirty schizophrenics and thirty depressive controls were evaluated. The premorbid intelligence level was measured by the Word Accentuation Test. The reliability of the instrument was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The differential diagnostic utility of the test was measured by logistic regression. Results: the number of correct answers was significantly higher in the depressive group. Logistic regression correctly  classified more than 80% of patients from the correct answers. Cronbach’s alpha index was 0.89. Conclusions: The Figurative Language Test is a reliable and useful scale.