Translating research into practice: Disease management for schizophrenia

Abstract

Performance on the Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET), a new computerized measure of executive function with alternate forms, was compared with performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in a sample of 32 patients with schizophrenia. In Analysis 1, the PCET and WCST were administered with several other standard neuropsychological measures to assess convergent and divergent validity. Results revealed that categories achieved and total errors on the PCET were closely related to analogous measures from the WCST. Divergent validity was supported through nonsignificant correlations between the PCET and measures of speeded visual sequencing, verbal learning and psychomotor speed. In Analysis 2, the relationship between the PCET, WCST and a detailed measure of vocational function, the Work Behavior Inventory (WBI), was compared. Results revealed that both executive-function measures were related to specific dimensions of work function as measured in a vocational setting. More specifically, categories achieved and total errors on both the WCST and PCET were related to measures of cooperativeness on the job. Errors on the PCET were also related to measurements of work quality and general impressions of work. These results provide the first evidence of criterion-related validity for the PCET and are part of a growing literature suggesting a relationship between performance on measures of executive function and work skills.