Empirically Defined Patterns of Executive Function Deficits in Schizophrenia and Their Relation to Everyday Functioning: A Person-Centered Approach

Abstract

Executive function (EF) deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) are well documented, although much less is known about patterns of EF deficits and their association to differential impairments in everyday functioning. The present study empirically defined SZ groups based on measures of various EF abilities and then compared these EF groups on everyday action errors. Participants (n = 45) completed various subtests from the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) and the Naturalistic Action Test (NAT), a performance-based measure of everyday action that yields scores reflecting total errors and a range of different error types (e.g., omission, perseveration). Results of a latent class analysis revealed three distinct EF groups, characterized by (a) multiple EF deficits, (b) relatively spared EF, and (c) perseverative responding. Follow-up analyses revealed that the classes differed significantly on NAT total errors, total commission errors, and total perseveration errors; the two classes with EF impairment performed comparably on the NAT but performed worse than the class with relatively spared EF. In sum, people with SZ demonstrate variable patterns of EF deficits, and distinct aspects of these EF deficit patterns (i.e., poor mental control abilities) may be associated with everyday functioning capabilities.

Keywords:

• Executive function
• Schizophrenia
• Everyday action
• Latent class analysis

Acknowledgements

This research was funded through research start-up funds provided by Temple University, College of Liberal Arts to Tania Giovannetti. Preparation of this article was supported in part by NIMH 1K01MH073717-01A2 awarded to Deborah Drabick. The authors have no conflicts of interest that would affect this manuscript.

Notes

¹For this analysis, education was divided into the following three categories: 0–11 years, 12 years, and 13 years or higher.