How can a corpus analysis tool help describe mentalizing skills in the speech of individuals with schizophrenia?

Abstract

Individuals with schizophrenia reportedly exhibit severe speech and mentalizing difficulties. The study of schizophrenic speech is a multifaceted research field, including a functional linguistic approach. In order to understand the nature of patients’ linguistic dysfunction, the primary task is to identify the occurrence of linguistic disturbances during mentalizing processes. The study being part of an interdisciplinary research is based on guided interviews related to Hemingway’s short story entitled The End of Something, and it primarily focuses on identifying and classifying mental state language reflecting mentalizing processes. The present corpus includes 20 guided patient interviews which were digitally recorded and transcribed. The qualitative analysis targeting the description and classification of recurring mental state language patterns related to mentalizing skills was performed with the help of the Sketch Engine corpus analysis tool. The program assisted in the identification and classification of collocations associated with the interviewees’ mental processes. The results suggest that the language use of individuals with schizophrenia reflects mild microlinguistic impairments but more severe dysfunctions at the macrolinguistic level. Hopefully, the findings can offer some possible indications for psychotherapists on how to detect and interpret characteristic linguistic impairments and improve mentalizing capacities in this patient group.