ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite extensive study of cognition in schizophrenia, it remains unclear as to whether cognitive deficits and their latent structure are best characterized as reflecting a generalized deficit, specific deficits, or some combination of general and specific constructs. METHOD: To clarify latent structure of cognitive abilities, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the latent structure of cognitive data collected for the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) for Schizophrenia study. Baseline assessment data (n = 813) were randomly divided into calibration (n = 413) and cross-validation samples (n = 400). To examine whether generalized or specific deficit models provided better explanation of the data, we estimated first-order, hierarchical, and bifactor models. RESULTS: A bifactor model with seven specific factors and one general factor provided the best fit to the data for both the calibration and cross-validation samples. CONCLUSIONS: These findings lend support for a replicable bifactor model of cognition in schizophrenia, characterized by both a general cognitive factor and specific domains. This suggests that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia might be best understood by separate general and specific contributions.
Subject(s)
Cognition Disorders , Schizophrenia , Cognition , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Humans , Schizophrenia/complications , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Objective: Despite evidence of social skill deficits in children with ADHD, there is no consensus regarding a social cognitive profile and whether these skills predict behavior. Therefore, a comprehensive battery was used to investigate the relationship between social cognition and behavioral functioning. Method: Children ages 7 to 13 with ADHD (n = 25) and controls (n = 25) completed tests assessing social cognitive domains (affect recognition and theory of mind [ToM]). Parents completed measures of social cognition (pragmatic language ability and empathy), behavioral symptoms, and adaptive functioning. Results: Children with ADHD performed significantly worse on measures of cognitive ToM and affect recognition and received lower ratings of pragmatic language and cognitive empathy than typically developing peers. These domains, particularly pragmatic language, predicted parent ratings of problematic and adaptive behaviors. Conclusion: Results establish a relationship between specific social cognitive abilities and daily functioning, which has implications for treatment.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity , Language Development Disorders , Theory of Mind , Adolescent , Child , Cognition , Humans , Neuropsychological Tests , Social Cognition , Social SkillsABSTRACT
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in heterogeneous patterns of neuropsychological impairment. This study investigated heterogeneity in executive function (EF) using the Comprehensive Trail Making Test (CTMT) to evaluate 121 children and adolescents with TBI and 121 matched normal controls. The TBI group performed approximately two standard deviations below controls. Cluster analyses indicated that a three-cluster solution best classified the TBI group and a four-cluster solution best classified controls. Greater impairment in EF was associated with lower intellectual, achievement, and neuropsychological test performance in the TBI group. Results suggest that EF deficits reflected in CTMT performance may be useful for classifying severity of TBI.
