The authors used a self-rating scale of thinking process disorganization
to measure degree of temporal disorganization in a group of 38 rigorously
categorized psychiatric inpatients. Patients diagnosed as having primary
affective disorder, depressed type, were significantly different from those
with either a character disorder or schizophrenic diagnosis; both
schizophrenic and character disorder groups showed variable temporal
disorganization scores, and the primary affective disorder group showed
consistently high levels of temporal disorganization. Diagnosis was more
important than symptom measures in relationship to temporal disorganization
scores.
Abstract Teaser