Hallucinations vs. delusions. A developmental approach.

The developmental levels of three samples of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenic patients who manifested hallucinations, delusions, or both symptoms were compared. The patient sample consisted of 432 men and 207 women. Developmental level was assessed by the Zigler-Phillips Social Competence Index. Patients who manifested delusions were found to be at a higher developmental level than those who suffered hallucinations. The social competence of patients having both symptoms tended to fall between the levels of the single symptom groups. Females had higher competence scores than males, and paranoid patients had higher scores than nonparanoid patients. The results were discussed in terms of the significance of developmental level as a pervasive dimension of the individual which relates to the expression of specific symptoms and other facets of psychiatric disorder.