The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT) in a schizophrenic population. Participants were 30 individuals with the acute phase of schizophrenia and 31 with the chronic stage. Internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha was high (α = .88). Two-way multiple analysis of covariance revealed that the acute group scored significantly higher than the chronic group on almost all tasks and components of the EFPT (p = .045 to .000), supporting construct validity. Moderate to high Spearman correlation coefficients were found between the total EFPT score and the total Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome profile and standardized scores within each of the groups (r =.433 to .764; p < .017 to .000), supporting criterion validity. The findings support the use of the EFPT for identifying executive functions in the context of everyday life and instrumental activities of daily living tasks. However, further studies are needed in different populations and cultures.
AldermanN.BurgessP. W.KnightC.HenmanC. (2003). Ecological validity of a simplified version of the multiple errands shopping test. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 31–44.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
BaddeleyA. (1996). Exploring the central executive. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A, 5–28.
4.
BaumM. C. (1995). The contribution of occupation to function in persons with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Occupational Science: Australia, 2, 59–67.
5.
BaumM. C.EdwardsD. (1993). Cognitive performance in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type: The Kitchen Task Assessment. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, 431–436.
6.
BaumM. C.MorrisonT.HahnM.EdwardsD. (2003). Executive Function Performance Test manual. St. Louis: Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine.
7.
BirnboimS. (2004). Strategy Application Task: Discriminate validity studies. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 47–56.
8.
BozikasV. P.KosmidisM. H.GamvrulaK.HatzigeorgiadouM.KourtisA.KaravatosA. (2004). Clock Drawing Test in patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 121, 229–238.
9.
BurgessP. W. (2000). Strategy application disorder: The role of the frontal lobes in human multitasking. Psychological Research, 63, 279–288.
10.
BustiniM.StrattaP.DaneluzzoE.PolliceR.ProsperiniP.RossiA. (1999). Tower of Hanoi and WCST performance in schizophrenia: Problem-solving capacity and clinical correlates. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 33, 285–290.
11.
ClarkO.O'CarrolR. E. (1998). An examination of the relationship between executive function, memory, and rehabilitation status schizophrenia. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 8, 229–241.
12.
DuncanJ. (1995). Attention, intelligence and the frontal lobes. In GazzannigaM. S. (Ed.), The cognitive neurosciences (pp. 721–734). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
13.
DvirO.AvniN.Be'erB.TamirA.NavehY.PelzenB. (2003). Performance profile of the Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS) in a healthy Israeli population. Israel Journal of Occupational Therapy, 12, H207–H223.
14.
ElliottR. (2003). Executive functions and their disorders. British Medical Bulletin, 65, 49–59.
15.
EvansJ. J.ChuaS. E.McKennaP. J.WilsonB. A. (1997). Assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome in schizophrenia. Psychological Medicine, 27, 635–646.
16.
GodefroyO. (2003). Frontal syndrome and disorders of executive functions. Journal of Neurology, 250, 1–6.
17.
GreenM. F.KernR. S.BraffD. L.MintzJ. (2000). Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia: Are we measuring the “right stuff”?Schizophrenia Bulletin, 26, 119–136.
18.
HuttonS. B.PuriB. K.DuncanL. J.RobbinsT. W.BarnesT. R. E.JoyceE. M. (1998). Executive function in first-episode schizophrenia. Psychological Medicine, 28, 463–473.
19.
KatzN.Hartman-MaeirA. (2005). Higher-level cognitive functions: Awareness and executive functions enabling engagement in occupation. In KatzN. (Ed.), Cognition and occupation across the life span: Models for intervention in occupational therapy (2nd ed., pp. 3–25). Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association.
20.
KayS. R.FiszbeinA.OplerL. A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 261–276.
21.
KnightC.AldermanN.BurgessP. W. (2002). Development of a simplified version of the multiple errands test for use in hospital settings. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 12, 231–255.
LawM.BaumM. C.DunnW. (2005). Occupational performance assessment. In ChristiansenC. H.BaumM. C.HaugenJ. B. (Eds.), Occupational therapy: Performance, participation and well-being (pp. 338–371). Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.
24.
LezakM. D. (1995). Neuropsychological assessment (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
25.
LezakM. D.HowiesonD. B.LoringD. W. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
26.
NorrisG.TateR. L. (2000). The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS): Ecological, concurrent, and construct validity. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 10, 33–45.
27.
PachalskaM.KurzbauerH.TalarJ.MacQueenB. D. (2002). Active and passive executive function disorder subsequent to closed-head injury. Medical Science Monitor, 8, CS1–CS9.
28.
PantelisC.BarnesT. R. E.NelsonH. E.TannerS.WeatherleyL.OwenA. M., (1997). Frontal-striatal cognitive deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Brain, 120, 1823–1843.
29.
PantelisC.BarberF. Z.BarnesT. R. E.NelsonH. E.OwenA. M., (1999). Comparison of set-shifting ability in patients with chronic schizophrenia and frontal lobe damage. Schizophrenia Research, 37, 251–270.
30.
PohjasvaaraT.LeskelaM.VatajaR.KalskaH.YlikoskiR.HietanenM., (2002). Post-stroke depression, executive dysfunction and functional outcomes. European Journal of Neurology, 9, 269–275.
31.
RoyallD. R.CordesJ. A.PolkM. (1998). CLOX: An executive clock drawing task. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 64, 588–594.
32.
RoyallD. R.MahurinR. K.GrayK. F. (1992). Bedside assessment of executive impairment: The Executive Interview. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 40, 1221–1226.
33.
SemkovskaM.BedardM. A.GodboutL.LimogeF.StipE. (2004). Assessment of executive dysfunction during activities of daily living in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 69, 289–300.
34.
ShalliceT.BurgessP. W. (1991). Deficits in strategy application following frontal lobe damage in man. Brain, 114, 727–741.
35.
SimonA. E.GiacominiV.FerreroF.MohrS. (2003). Dysexecutive syndrome and social adjustment in schizophrenia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 340–346.
36.
SohlbergM. M.MateerC. A. (2001). Management of dysexecutive symptoms. In SohlbergM. M.MatterC. A. (Eds.), Cognitive rehabilitation: An integrative neuropsychological approach (pp. 230–268). New York: Guilford Press.
37.
StrattaP.ArduiniL.DaneluzzoE.RinaldiO.di GenovaA.RossiA. (2004). Relationship of good and poor Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance to illness duration in schizophrenia: A cross-sectional analysis. Psychiatry Research, 121, 219–227.
38.
StussD. T. (1992). Biological and psychological development of executive functions. Brain and Cognition, 20, 8–23.
39.
StussD. T.AlexanderM. P. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view. Psychological Research, 63, 289–298.
40.
SwanbergM. M.TractenbergR. E.MohsR.ThalL. J.CummingsJ. L. (2004). Executive dysfunction in Alzheimer disease. Archives of Neurology, 61, 556–560.
41.
WilsonB. A.AldermanN.BurgessP. W.EmslieH.EvansJ. J. (1996). Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome. St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.
42.
WilsonB. A.EvansJ. J.AldermanN.BurgessP. W.EmslieH. (1997). Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome. In RabbittP. (Ed.), Methodology of frontal and executive function (pp. 239–250). New York: Psychology Press.
43.
WilsonB. A.EvansJ. J.EmslieH.AldermanN.BurgessP. (1998). The development of an ecologically valid test for assessing patients with a dysexecutive syndrome. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 8, 213–228.
44.
ZakzanisK. K.HeinrichsW. (1999). Schizophrenia and the frontal brain: A quantitative review. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 5, 556–566.
45.
ZallaT.JoyceC.SzokeA.SchurhoffF.PillonB.KomanoO., (2004). Executive dysfunctions as potential markers of familial vulnerability to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 121, 207–217.
