Social and Personality Variables Related to the Origin of Auditory Hallucinations

Abstract

Hallucinations represent one of the most interesting and relevant symptoms in Psychopathology today. Although mainly associated with psychotic disorders, they are also present in an important range of psychiatric disturbances (affective disorders, post-traumatic stress, dementia, drug additions, etc.). This article emphasizes that social and personality aspects are basic to understanding this phenomenon. A large part of the studies carried out in recent years have dealt more with underlying biological and cognitive aspects of the phenomenon. However, the social situation in which these individuals live, the sociocultural context in which they move and the different personality styles which are what, to a great extent, determine the function that the hallucinations have in the life of these patients, must also be understood. This analysis focuses mainly on the auditory hallucinations normally present in schizophrenia.