Self-report of the frequency and phenomenology of verbal hallucinations

This study was an assessment of several parameters of verbal hallucinations ("voices") based on the self-report of 52 hallucinating psychiatric patients. These subjects were asked to estimate the frequency of their hallucinations and to rate phenomenological aspects (loudness, clarity, location, reality) of their most recent hallucination. Each parameter was assessed with two visual analogue scales which differed in their wording of the dimension. Results showed that the reliability of the subjects' estimates on the parameters differed greatly. Clarity was most reliably reported and reality was least reliably reported. Historical notions that schizophrenics characteristically perceive external "voices" and that such "voices" are perceived as more real were not supported. There was a significant negative correlation between the perceived location and the perceived clarity of hallucinations. No significant differences in mean parameter scores were found between two groups of subjects, schizophrenics and affective psychotics.