Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome Battery (BADS) in Schizophrenia

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to explore the diagnostic features of the behavioral assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome battery (BADS) in the Spanish population of chronic schizophrenia patients, its concurrent validity with other classic neuropsychologic tests of executive dysfunction, and its correlates with clinical variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 61 patients with chronic schizophrenia and in a control group of 35 healthy participants. The diagnostic characteristics of the test were studied. An evaluation was performed of the association of BADS with a gold standard battery of executive dysfunction, with the symptoms, and with functional performance. Several regression models were tested to assess the clinical effect of executive impairment in schizophrenia. BADS seems to offer good reliability, a 1-dimensional structure, and good convergent validity. The proportion of schizophrenia patients with impaired executive functioning in our sample was 47%. It was a risk factor for the inpatient status and for more illness severity. Executive functioning in schizophrenia can be reliably and validly assessed with BADS. The diagnosis of impaired executive functioning may be of clinical usefulness as a marker of more illness severity and poorer functional status.