Premium
Performance on the Modified Card Sorting Test and its relation to psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome
Author(s) -
Rockers K.,
Ousley O.,
Sutton T.,
Schoenberg E.,
Coleman K.,
Walker E.,
Cubells J. F.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01178.x
Subject(s) - wisconsin card sorting test , psychopathology , prodrome , psychology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychosis , executive functions , intellectual disability , clinical psychology , executive dysfunction , developmental psychology , card sorting , young adult , cognition , psychiatry , neuropsychology , task (project management) , management , economics
Background Approximately one‐third of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), a common genetic disorder highly associated with intellectual disabilities, may develop schizophrenia, likely preceded by a mild to moderate cognitive decline. Methods We examined adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS for the presence of executive function deficits using a modified version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (MCST) and assessed whether specific performances were associated with concurrent schizophrenia‐prodrome symptoms. We also examined possible relationships between MCST performance and broader indices of psychopathology, including self‐reported internalising and externalising behavioural symptoms. Results Participants with 22q11DS scored significantly below age‐matched controls on seven out of nine MCST measures, and poorer MCST performance was associated with increased positive prodromal and internalising behavioural symptoms. Conclusions The schizophrenia‐prodrome in 22q11DS involves executive dysfunction, and longitudinal investigation is necessary to examine if specific executive function impairments precedes or co‐occurs with the emergence of behavioural psychopathology.