[Imperative auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia]

Command hallucinations are a subtype of auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia. More likely than any other schizophrenic symptom, they may have an impact on the individual's behavior. In the forensic literature, aspects of dangerous actions induced by psychotic motivation have been discussed. From the psychiatric point of view, the main problem is the unpredictability of behavioral consequences. The present study examines psychopathological details of command hallucinations in 31 hospitalized schizophrenic patients, 10 females and 21 males, using a questionnaire including 24 items. The predictive accuracy of a distinct set of signs was rated concerning compliance vs. resistance of hallucinated commands. The predictors are: identifying the hallucinated voice, being affected by emotions after hallucinations, and misregarding the voice as being real. In the presence of these conditions, behavioral consequences are predicted by a value which was 6.7 times higher than that without any information about predictors. In the absence of these conditions, resistance of command voices is predicted by a value of 7.