Awareness of everyday executive difficulties precede overt executive dysfunction in schizotypal subjects

Abstract

Much evidence indicates that schizophrenic patients exhibit deficits on tests of executive functioning. It is therefore hypo- 10 thesized that individuals with high schizotypal personality traits that may have a predisposition to schizophrenia, are also likely to 11 exhibit impairments in neuropsychological tests of executive function. The sample consisted of 61 healthy controls that were 12 divided into high and low scorers on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ-B: Raine et al., 1995). Participants completed 13 a battery of executive tasks (category and letter fluency, the Hayling test, Zoo map); however, a MANOVA revealed no significant 14 differences between high and low SPQ scorers. Nevertheless, high SPQ scorers scored significantly higher on the dysexecutive Q1 15 (DEX) self-rating scale of everyday executive problems; and these self-ratings correlated significantly with the disorganisation and 16 cognitive–perceptual features of the SPQ-B, but not with the interpersonal features. This suggests that perceived executive 17 dysfunction is pre-morbidly present and may become evident in test performance only with the onset of schizophrenia itself.