Psychotic children with hallucinations.

In a retrospective study, 20 psychotic children and adolescents with hallucinations were compared with 15 psychotic controls without hallucinations. In the former, auditory hallucinations predominated, which tended to be localised in the internal space of the child. Subjects with hallucinations had significantly more symptoms of depression and anxiety, more precipitants of illness and problems in reading ability. There was a trend for increased laconic speech in them. The findings suggest a link between hallucinations and mood and cognitive changes in children and adolescents with psychoses of late onset.