Meeting abstract

https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2026.344

Characteristics of Speech Pauses in Autobiographical Narratives and Picture Descriptions Among People With Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study

Nika Sutara ; University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Zagreb, Croatia *
Ante Periša ; University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Liker ; Department of Phonetics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Sekulić Sović ; Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Aleksandar Savić ; University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

Introduction: Speech pauses reflect various processes
involved in planning and organizing speech
production and, in people with schizophrenia,
are associated with formal thought disorder and
negative symptoms. Since different speech tasks
activate different cognitive processes and may
result in different pausing patterns, the aim of
this pilot study was to compare pause characteristics
during an autobiographical narrative and
a picture description task in individuals with
schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 11 patients
with schizophrenia were interviewed using the
DISCOURSE protocol (autobiographical narrative
and picture description). Speech samples were
manually annotated, and temporal characteristics of silent pauses were analyzed in Praat. A silent
pause was defined as an interval of silence lasting
at least 250 ms and at most 3 seconds, with a
sound level below −25 dB. The following were calculated:
number of pauses, total pause duration,
mean pause duration and median pause duration,
duration of the longest pause, number of pauses
per minute of speech, and proportion of time
spent in pauses. Differences between the autobiographical
narrative and picture description were
assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for
paired samples. Results: A significantly higher
number of pauses was recorded during the autobiographical
narrative than during the picture
description (p = 0.010); however, the number of
pauses per minute of speech did not differ significantly
between the tasks (p = 0.450). In contrast,
during the picture description, the mean pause
duration (p = 0.014) and the median pause duration
(p = 0.011) were significantly longer. No
statistically significant differences were found in
total pause duration (p = 0.120), proportion of
time spent in pauses (p = 0.689), or duration of
the longest pause (p = 0.221). Conclusion: Different
speech tasks in individuals with schizophrenia
result in different pausing patterns. The mean
duration of silent pauses was significantly longer
during the picture description than during the autobiographical
narrative, which may indicate different
demands on speech planning and discourse
organization between the tasks, although studies
including neuropsychological measures are needed
to confirm this interpretation. Although this is
a pilot study with a small number of participants,
the findings point to the importance of including
different speech tasks in the development and
standardization of speech biomarkers in schizophrenia
and their potential clinical application.

Keywords

schizophrenia; speech pauses; speech production

Hrčak ID:

353112

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/353112

Publication date:

15.6.2026.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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