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Highlight • Social disconnection – both objective social isolation as well as perceived social isolation (otherwise known as loneliness) – is a prevalent affliction among older adults, with profound effects on mental health. • Mechanistic understanding of how mental illness contributes to, is exacerbated by, or is otherwise linked to social disconnection remains elusive, and therapeutic interventions which leverage social connection to enhance compliance with or efficacy of mental health treatment, though promising, remain scarce. • The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is committed to transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. To translate basic knowledge into new methods for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness demands appreciation for the broader milieu of social and environmental factors in which mental illness prevails – of which, social connection or disconnection is one.

The Research Committee will organize this workshop in collaboration with program officers from the NIMH and NIA, who will serve as presenters. All independent researchers and interested research trainees are invited to participate.

This report considers the conceptual and methodological concerns confronting clinical investigators seeking to generate knowledge regarding the tolerability and benefits of pharmacotherapy in geriatric bipolar disorder (BD) patients.There is continuing need for evidence-based guidelines derived from randomized controlled trials that will enhance drug treatment of geriatric BD patients. Therefore, we present the complex conceptual and methodological choices encountered in designing a multisite clinical trial and the decisions reached by the investigators with the intention that study findings be pertinent to, and can facilitate, routine treatment decisions.Guided by a literature review and input from peers, the tolerability and antimanic effects of lithium and valproate were judged to be the key mood stabilizers to investigate with regard to treating bipolar I disorder manic, mixed, and hypomanic states. The patient selection criteria are intended to generate a sample that not only experiences common treatment needs but also represents the variety of older patients seen in university-based clinical settings. The clinical protocol guides titration of lithium and valproate to target serum concentrations, with lower levels allowed when necessitated by limited tolerability. The protocol emphasizes initial monotherapy. However, augmentation with risperidone is permitted after three weeks when indicated by operational criteria.A randomized, controlled trial that both investigates commonly prescribed mood stabilizers and maximizes patient participation can meaningfully address high-priority clinical concerns directly relevant to the routine pharmacologic treatment of geriatric BD patients.

he United States has a larger number of older Tadults than at any other time in its history, and this number is rapidly increasing. As of May 2010, the U.S. Bureau of the Census estimated that 40.2 million Americans are 65 years of age or older, comprising 13% of the population. By 2050, the number of older adults will have increased to over 88.5 million—more than double the current elderly population estimate. With this rapid aging of the population, the proportion of older adults with mental disorders is also expected to increase. Such an increase may stem from people living longer and consequently experiencing more aging-related physical disease comorbidity that may predispose to the development of a mental illness, or to cohort shifts among older adults (e.g., baby boomers may have more histories of prior psychiatric and substance abuse, relative to their pre-World War II-born parents). Current estimates suggest that by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease in its contributions to the global burden of disease. This rapid increase in our aging adult cohort creates an increased need to understand and reduce the publichealth burden of mood and anxiety disorders on older Americans. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is interested in supporting translational research efforts that will lead to new discoveries to help cure mental illness. The mission of the Institute is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. For this work to

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine in a group of hemodialysis patients whether perceptions of barriers to and benefits of adherence to fluid limitations, perceived seriousness of and susceptibility to the consequences of nonadherence, self-efficacy, and thirst differed by stage of fluid adherence. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive design. Setting: There were 147 participants from rural, suburban, and urban outpatient hemodialysis units. Results: Significant differences were found in perceived benefits, barriers, seriousness, susceptibility, and thirst intensity by stage of fluid adherence. There were no significant differences in self-efficacy by stage of fluid adherence. Conclusion: Stage of fluid adherence may be important to consider when designing interventions to reduce fluid intake.

It has been suggested that lack of awareness of illness in schizophrenia may result from deficits in executive function and/or an avoidant style of coping. To examine this question, 132 persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were rated as either “aware,” “partially unaware” or “unaware” of: (a) their illness, (b) need for treatment and (c) consequences of disorder on the abbreviated Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder. We next compared the performance of the aware, partially unaware and unaware groups on the “escape–avoidance” and “positive reappraisal” subtests of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire and on two tests of executive function: the Letter Number Sequencing Subtest of the WAIS III and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. MANCOVA followed by ANCOVA and planned comparisons, controlling for age indicated that the participants who were unaware of symptoms, treatment need and consequences generally performed more poorly than the aware groups on tests of executive function. Participants unaware of symptoms also had a greater preference for positive reappraisal than aware or partially unaware participants. The participants unaware of the consequences of disorder endorsed a greater preference for escape–avoidance than the partially unaware participants. Implications for understanding the etiology of lack of awareness in schizophrenia are discussed.

Schizophrenia and aging are both risk factors for deficits in independent functioning, yet relatively few studies have examined the level and predictors of functional status of older outpatients with schizophrenia. We compared employment history, current living situation, and driving status of 83 middle-aged and elderly outpatients with schizophrenia (mean age 59 years), and 46 demographically equivalent normal comparison subjects. We also examined the relationships of neuropsychological functioning and psychiatric symptoms to these aspects of everyday functioning. The schizophrenia patient group had consistently worse functional status than the normal comparison group, but 30% of the patients were employed at least 50% of the time during their post-schizophrenia-onset adult lives, 73% were living in a house or apartment and responsible for meeting most of their own daily needs, and 43% were current drivers. Severity of negative symptoms (but not that of positive symptoms) was inversely correlated with functional status. Worse performance on a neuropsychological battery was generally associated with worse functional status. These findings counter notions that functional impairment is inevitable in older schizophrenia patients, and highlight the importance of assessment of functional skills and possibly targeting them as a treatment focus.

The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) is designed to quantify components of verbal learning, retention and retrieval. The present study used multiple regression analyses to correct for demographic characteristics on CVLT performance measures. There were 906 subjects, of whom 549 were Caucasians (61%) and 357 were African Americans (39%). Age, education, ethnicity, and gender were found to be significant predictors of performance on several CVLT indices, including Total Words Recalled, Trial 1, Trial 5, List B, Short Delay Free Recall (SDFR), and Long Delay Free Recall (LDFR). Demographically corrected T-scores were calculated for a base sample of 672 subjects and cross-validated on 234 separate subjects. Tables and regression equations are offered to convert raw scores into T-scores corrected for age, gender, education, and ethnicity. Demographically corrected Recognition Discriminability cutoff scores were calculated for age and education levels. In order to provide some indices of important memory processes, we also computed indices of retrieval, Short-Delay forgetting and Long-Delay forgetting and present normative information for them.

Background The diagnostic status of schizoaffective disorder continues to be controversial. Researchers have proposed that schizoaffective disorder represents a variant of schizophrenia or affective disorder, a combination of the 2, or an intermediate condition along a continuum between schizophrenia and affective disorder. Method We compared outpatients aged 45 to 77 years with DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder (N = 29), schizophrenia (N = 154), or nonpsychotic mood disorder (N = 27) on standardized rating scales of psychopathology and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. A discriminant function analysis was used to classify the schizoaffective patients based on their neuropsychological profiles as being similar either to schizophrenia patients or to those with nonpsychotic mood disorder. Results The schizoaffective and schizophrenia patients had more severe dyskinesia, had a weaker family history of mood disorder, had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons more frequently, were more likely to be prescribed neuroleptic and anticholinergic medication, and had somewhat less severe depressive symptoms than the mood disorder patients. The schizophrenia patients had more severe positive symptoms than the schizoaffective and mood disorder patients. The neuropsychological performances of the 2 psychosis groups were more impaired than those of the nonpsychotic mood disorder patients. Finally, on the basis of a discriminant function analysis, the schizoaffective patients were more likely to be classified as having schizophrenia than a mood disorder. Conclusion These findings suggest that schizoaffective disorder may represent a variant of schizophrenia in clinical symptom profiles and cognitive impairment.

We evaluated psychiatric symptoms and neurocognitive functioning among 25 institutionalized and 25 outpatient DSM-IV-diagnosed schizophrenia patients, as well as 25 middle-aged and elderly normal comparison subjects. All subjects were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, mod ified Simpson-Angus Extrapyramidal Symptom Scale, the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). The two patient groups had similar levels of depressive symptoms, but the institu tionalized patients had more severe positive and negative symptoms and were on higher doses of neuroleptic medication. The institutionalized patients had significantly more cognitive impairment on the DRS than outpa tients and normal comparison subjects, particularly on the subscales of initiation/perseveration, conceptualization, and memory. Results are discussed in terms of the possible neuropathology associated with cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia. ( J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1999; 12:11-15).

There is a growing recognition of the importance of quantifying the impact of illness on functional abilities. Measures of function frequently rely on a self-report. Few studies have directly assessed functional capacity in psychiatric patients, especially older ones who may be at an increased risk for disability. Subjects were 102 middle-aged and elderly outpatients with DSM-III-R or DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and 66 normal comparison subjects, ranging in age from 45 to 86. The Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS), a standardized measure of behavior during simulated daily activity tasks (i.e. time orientation, communication, transportation, finance, shopping, grooming and eating) was used to quantify levels of disability. Schizophrenic patients demonstrated significantly greater disability than normal subjects. An evaluation of specific behaviors indicated that the patients were significantly more limited than comparison subjects across all subscales of the DAFS except for grooming and eating. A lower level of formal education, greater severity of extrapyramidal symptoms, and greater cognitive deficits, but not severity of symptoms of schizophrenia, were related to lower DAFS scores. Relative to published findings, schizophrenic patients appeared more disabled than outpatients with major depression, but less disabled than those with Alzheimer's disease. The DAFS is a useful instrument for characterizing functional abilities in older patients with schizophrenia. Our findings of significant functional disability in older schizophrenic patients have implications for treatment as well as allocation of health-care resources.

Objective The goal of this study was to evaluate how black and white men and women responded physiologically to specific laboratory challenges. Methods Hemodynamic responses to an active coping (evaluated speaking) and two inhibitory-passive coping (mirror tracing, cold pressor) tasks were examined in 138 black and white men and women. Results Significant ethnicity by gender interactions occurred for the evaluated speaking task. Black men responded with lower blood pressure, cardiac output or heart rate, or both, than black women, white men, and white women, who did not differ from each other. Black men, relative to the other subgroups, also reported more inhibitory-passive coping, hostility, and pessimism, and less social support. Whites also responded with greater increases in systolic blood pressure during mirror tracing than blacks. Conclusions These findings indicate that black-white differences in physiological responsivity obtained for men may have limited generalizability for women. The results also suggest that environmental and social factors rather than genetic or constitutional factors may play a role in black-white reactivity differences.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are widespread and disabling. This has been known since Dr. Alois Alzheimer's first case, Frau Auguste D., presented with emotional distress and delusions of infidelity/excessive jealousy, followed by cognitive symptoms. Being cognizant of this, in 2010 the Alzheimer's Association convened a research roundtable on the topic of NPS in AD. A major outcome of the roundtable was the founding of a Professional Interest Area (PIA) within the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART). The NPS-PIA has prepared a series of documents that are intended to summarize the literature and provide more detailed specific recommendations for NPS research. This overview paper is the first of these living documents that will be updated periodically as the science advances. The overview is followed by syndrome-specific synthetic reviews and recommendations prepared by NPS-PIA workgroups on depression, apathy, sleep, agitation, and psychosis.

The authors evaluated 14 middle-aged and elderly patients with delusional disorder (DD) and 253 patients with schizophrenia (SC); all patients met DSM-III-R criteria. Because the DD patients were older and had a later age at onset of illness, a sub-sample of 50 SC patients with illness onset after age 40 was compared with the 14 DD patients on clinical and neuropsychological characteristics. The DD group had a less frequent history of past hospitalization but more severe overall psychopathologic symptoms. Level of neuropsychological impairment seemed somewhat lower in the DD group, but differences were nonsignificant because of small sample size. Diagnoses remained stable during up to 8 years' follow-up (average 4 years). These preliminary findings provide partial support to the clinical categorization of DD as a disorder distinct from SC.

Clinical and epidemiological studies have consistently observed the heterogeneous symptomatology and course of geriatric depression. Given the importance of genetic and environmental risk factors, aging processes, neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disease processes, and medical comorbidity, the integration of basic and clinical neuroscience research approaches is critical for the understanding of the variability in illness course, as well as the development of prevention and intervention strategies that are more effective. These considerations were the impetus for a workshop, sponsored by the Geriatrics Research Branch in the Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development of the National Institute of Mental Health that was held on September 7-8, 2005. The primary goal of the workshop was to bring together investigators in geriatric psychiatry research with researchers in specific topic areas outside of geriatric mental health to identify priority areas to advance translational research in geriatric depression. As described in this report, the workshop focused on a discussion of the development and application of integrative approaches combining genetics and neuroimaging methods to understand such complex issues as treatment response variability, the role of medical comorbidity in depression, and the potential overlap between depression and dementia. Future directions for integrative research were identified. Understanding the nature of geriatric depression requires the application of translational research and interdisciplinary research approaches. Geriatric depression could serve as a model for translational research integrating basic and clinical neuroscience approaches that would have implications for the study of other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Objective: There has been a growing trend in medicine to evaluate the impact of illness on functional abilities. Such studies typically rely on the patient’s or caregiver’s report. The goal of this study was to assess directly the functional capacity of psychiatric patients, especially older ones. Method: The subjects were 55 outpatients with schizophrenia and 72 normal persons ranging in age from 45 to 86 years. The subjects were administered the Direct Assessment of Functional Status Scale, which assesses behavior during simulated daily activity tasks in the areas of time orientation, communication, transportation, finance, shopping, grooming, and eating. Results: The patients with schizophrenia had significantly greater disability than the normal subjects according to total scale scores as well as the communication, transportation, finance, and shopping subscale scores. Global cognitive status was the best predictor of total scale score. Conclusions: The Direct Assessment of Functional Status Scale is a promising instrument for functional assessment in outpatients with schizophrenia. (Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:1022‐1024)

This study assessed psychiatric problems, needs for psychiatric and social services, and service utilization among clients of a public assistance program. Sixty-five clients were assessed using a structured clinical interview to determine the presence of a psychiatric disorder (using the CIDI-A), extent of social service need, and health-related quality of life (RAND SF-36). Seventy-seven percent of the sample met criteria for at least one current or lifetime psychiatric disorder. Health-related quality of life was substantially below published norms. Most clients reported needing financial, housing, and vocational assistance. Many had contact with mental health services, but few were actually receiving psychiatric treatment. Although many clients were assessed as having serious psychiatric, physical, or social needs, very few were receiving appropriate services for these problems. Findings suggest problems or barriers to the provision of services that need to be investigated among this vulnerable community population.

Previous work has shown that dialysis improves cognitive functioning in hemodialysis patients, perhaps due to improvements in anemia among these patients. Such improvements in cognitive performance may lead to better levels of self-care and adherence with treatment. This study examined the relationship between fluid adherence and cognitive functioning in patients receiving hemodialysis. One hundred forty-seven patients were assessed with a brief screening instrument, the Cognistat, to determine their current level of functioning during the first hour of hemodialysis. Fluid nonadherence was operationalized as interdialytic weight gain above 1 kg/day. Rates of impairment on the Cognistat subscale ranged from 2.7% (orientation) to 54% (memory) in this sample. Roughly 68% of the sample was nonadherent during the course of treatment. Results found no differences in mean levels of cognitive performance between those who were adherent and those who were not and only modest relationships of measures of anemia to certain aspects of cognitive performance. For the hemodialysis patient to benefit from self-care education, the patient must be able to understand, remember, reason, and use cognitive processes to modify behavior. These results suggest that more in-depth assessment of cognitive performance may be needed. In addition, this assessment may need to be conducted on a day when treatment is not received.

The United States is rapidly becoming a more racially and ethnically diverse nation, bringing the challenge of ensuring that health care specialties, including neuropsychology, are representative of and competent to serve the needs of this population. Initiatives have been undertaken to increase minority representation in training for psychology and neuropsychology. However, tracking progress requires reliable race/ethnicity data collection and reporting. On the 2002 American Psychological Association (APA) Directory Survey (APA Research Office, 2002), up to 42% of the APA membership and up to 25% of the Division 40 membership did not specify race/ethnicity status. Within Division 40, data for members who did report race/ethnicity suggest that representation of Hispanic, Asian, Black/African American, and Native American members lags substantially behind that of White members. Improved methods for collecting information on race/ethnicity are needed to meet diversity objectives.

Second-generation antipsychotics may enhance the rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia. The authors hypothesized that clients receiving second-generation antipsychotics would use vocational rehabilitation services more effectively and would have better employment outcomes than those receiving first-generation antipsychotics.Ninety unemployed clients with schizophrenia and related disorders who were beginning a vocational rehabilitation program were followed for nine months. Three groups were defined according to the medication in use at study entry: olanzapine (N=39), risperidone (N=27), or first-generation antipsychotics only (N=24). Participants were interviewed monthly.The olanzapine and risperidone groups did not differ on any employment outcomes. On most vocational indicators, clients receiving second-generation agents did not differ from those receiving first-generation agents. However, at nine months the second-generation group had a significantly higher rate of participation in vocational training; a trend was found toward a higher rate of paid employment. All groups showed substantial improvement in employment outcomes after entering a vocational program.The hypothesis that second-generation antipsychotics promote better employment outcomes than first-generation antipsychotics was not upheld. However, second-generation agents appear to be associated with increased participation in vocational rehabilitation.

While research equivocally supports a relationship between social cognition and neurocognition, it is less clear whether social cognition is related to general cognitive functioning or whether specific aspects of social cognition are linked with specific forms of neurocognition. Thus, this study sought to investigate the relationships between various domains of neurocognition and two forms of social cognition, social cue recognition and social problem solving, for 40 people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Step-wise multiple regressions found that performance on neurocognitive tests was able to predict 47% and 38% of the variance on measures of the ability to recognize actual and suggested social cues, respectively, and 13% of participants' ability to problem solve in ambiguous social situations. Once estimated intelligence and hospitalization history were controlled, however, neurocognition no longer significantly predicted social problem solving. Executive functioning was uniquely related to each type of social cue recognition, while memory predicted only the recognition of concrete social cues.

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia appear to be associated with social problem solving, social and vocational functioning, and psychosocial skill acquisition. The present study examined the relationship of cognitive functioning, as well as clinical symptoms, to vocational outcomes among individuals with schizophrenia. One hundred and twelve participants with DSM-IV schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses underwent a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation after enrolling in one of several employment programs. The neuropsychological evaluation examined verbal learning and memory, attention, speed of information processing, and executive functioning. Clinical symptoms were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Vocational outcomes were assessed 4 months after baseline assessment and included both measures of employment outcome (e.g., earnings) and of work performance as assessed by the Work Behavior Inventory (WBI). Negative symptoms, learning and memory performance, processing speed, and executive functioning were related to hours, weeks, and wages earned on the job. Stepwise multiple regression analyses found that among baseline clinical and cognitive predictors, only verbal learning and memory and cognitive disorganization symptoms were significant predictors of work behaviors 4 months later. Learning and memory were the only significant predictors of integrated employment at 4 months. These results suggest specific aspects of cognition may be modestly predictive of vocational outcomes.

Executive function deficits are seen in both schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but research suggests that dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF) dysfunction is associated with schizophrenia and orbitofrontal (OBF) dysfunction is associated with OCD. As part of a comprehensive europsychological assessment, the Bechara Gambling Task (BGT) was used to assess OBF function and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) was used to assess DLPF function among three groups: 26 individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (SCZ+), 28 individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder without obsessive-compulsive symptoms (SCZ−), and, 11 individuals with OCD. It was predicted that the SCZ+ group and the OCD group would show impairments in OBF function, as compared to the SCZ− group, and that the SCZ+ and SCZ− groups would show impairments in DLPF function, as compared to the OCD group. It was also predicted that the SCZ+ group would perform more poorly than the SCZ− and OCD groups in a number of other cognitive domains. Contrary to expectation, no divergence between groups was seen on tests of executive function. Instead, there was a statistical trend for the SCZ+ and SCZ− groups, when combined, to perform worse than individuals with OCD on the measure of OBF. Although not significant at the designated alpha level, the profile results showed that the SCZ+ group performed slightly below the OCD and SCZ− groups across nearly all neuropsychological domains.

Background This study sought to determine the relative importance of cognitive measures in predicting various domains of everyday functional capacity in older outpatients with schizophrenia. Methods Ninety-three psychiatry outpatients with diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders underwent a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation, including neuropsychological testing and clinical ratings of psychopathology. Functional capacity was assessed with the Direct Assessment of Functional Status, a performance measure of basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs/IADLs). Results Neuropsychological performance significantly predicted most ADLs/IADLs measured, except simple eating behaviors, time orientation, and grooming. Lower educational level and negative symptoms also were associated with worse functional capacity, whereas positive symptoms and depressed mood were not. Measures of cognitive functioning accounted for more variance in functional capacity than did psychiatric ratings of symptoms, and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that neuropsychological performance was predictive of functional capacity, over and above clinical symptoms. No specific cognitive domains were differentially predictive of specific domains of functional capacity. Conclusions Neurocognitive abilities were more predictive of functional capacity than level of clinical symptoms; however, these abilities were not specific predictors of functioning. This is consistent with findings of relatively generalized, intercorrelated cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and multiply determined domains of everyday functioning.

We examined whether responder type groups reflecting patterns of hemodynamic reactivity might also differ in recovery responses. Cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and Heather index were assessed at rest and during speech and cold pressor tasks in young adults. Participants (n = 152) were classified as myocardial, vascular, or mixed-mild responders based on CO and TPR responses to speech presentation. Vascular responders exhibited slower CO and TPR speech recovery than the myocardial and/or mixed-mild groups. Responder type differences in reactivity showed limited task-generalizability. The sustained vascular response pattern of the vascular group is consistent with that seen in hypertension. In light of associations of heightened TPR with markers of disease risk, this suggests potentially negative health implications for vascular responders.

Objective: This study explored the association between sexual abuse in childhood and the severity of psychosocial deficits in adults with schizophrenia. Methods: The Quality of Life Scale, which assesses current interpersonal and work function, and the NEO personality inventory, which assesses personality dimensions relevant to social functioning, were administered to 54 individuals who had been diagnosed as having schizophrenia. Nineteen of the individuals reported having been sexually abused as children, and 35 reported no history of abuse. Results: A multiple analysis of variance indicated that there were differences between the group of individuals who had a history of sexual trauma and the group that did not. Subsequent univariate analysis of variance indicated that the individuals with a history of abuse had poorer current role functioning and fewer of the basic psychological building blocks necessary for sustaining intimacy. They also demonstrated higher levels of neuroticism, which is a measure of vulnerability to emotional turmoil. The two groups did not differ in frequency of interpersonal contacts or level of extroversion. Conclusions: Sexual abuse in childhood is associated with poorer psychosocial functioning in adults with schizophrenia. (Psychiatric Services 52:1485–1488, 2001)

Persons with schizophrenia are widely recognized to experience potent feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and a fragile sense of well-being. Although these subjective experiences have been linked to positive symptoms, little is known about their relationship to neurocognition. Accordingly, this study examined the relationship of self-reports of hope, self-efficacy, and well-being to measures of neurocognition, symptoms, and coping among 49 persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Results suggest that poorer executive function, verbal memory, and a greater reliance on escape avoidance as a coping mechanism predicted significantly higher levels of hope and well being with multiple regressions accounting for 34% and 20% of the variance (p < .0001), respectively. Self-efficacy predicted lower levels of positive symptoms and greater preference for escape avoidance as a coping mechanism with a multiple repression accounting for 9% of the variance (p < .05). Results may suggest that higher levels of neurocognitive impairment and an avoidant coping style may shield some with schizophrenia from painful subjective experiences. Theoretical and practical implications for rehabilitation are discussed.

The Halstead-Reitan battery (HRB) has been extensively used in clinical neuropsychology and numerous research studies have demonstrated its validity for neurodiagnostic and other applications (Reitan & Wolfson, 1993). The HRB typically includes the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) or one of its revisions (WAIS-R or WAIS-III), as well as several other measures: the Lateral Dominance Examination, a measure to determine left versus right preference for the hand, foot, and eye; the Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test, a modification of the Halstead-Wepman Aphasia Screening test to monitor various aspects of language function such as naming, repetition, and comprehension; the Finger Tapping Test, a test of motor speed with the upper extremities; the Hand Dynamometer test of grip strength; the Sensory-Perceptual Examination, a series of subtests to measure tactile, visual, and auditory function; the Tactile Form Recognition Test; the Seashore Rhythm Test and Speech Sounds Perception Test, measures of auditory attention and the ability to discriminate among auditory stimuli; the Trailmaking Test—Parts A and B, which measure sustained attention, perceptualmotor speed, and flexibility of thinking; the Tactual Performance Test, a measure of perceptual-motor problem solving, learning, and incidental memory; the Category Test, a complex test of abstraction and problem solving; and a version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Reitan & Wolfson, 1993). Often the HRB is supplemented by various tests of learning and memory such as the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) or one of its versions (WMS-R or WMS-III). A somewhat modified version of the HRB also has been developed and validated for use with older children (ages 9 to 14), and there is a much more extensively modified Reitan-Indiana Neuropsychological Test Battery for young children (ages 5 to 8; Reitan & Wolfson, 1993).

Attempts to address the impact of race and ethnicity on human behavior have increased in recent years. Race has been traditionally classified through genetically determined systems such as blood type or physical characteristics such as skin color (Kato, 1996). In its original definition developed to classify plants and animals, race was defined as an “inbreeding, geographically isolated population that differs in distinguishable physical traits from other members of the species” (Zuckerman, 1990). Social scientists attempted to take this definition and adapt it to the racial classification of human beings. The racial classification of human beings is generally fraught with problems, however, primarily due to a lack of empirically derived procedures to determine biologically distinct differences between different races. Ethnicity has been defined in several ways including national origin (i.e., Japanese American) and language (Hispanic American). Using this classification says little about the possible similarities between individuals within an ethnic classification. As with race, ethnicity has also been used to refer to distinguishing physical characteristics between groups of people. This has led to the tendency to use race and ethnicity interchangeably, further increasing the confusion. These differences in definition tend to decrease the ability to compare research findings across studies and have led to either a tendency to avoid using racial or ethnic categories altogether or to superficial use of the classification. As opposed to a more narrow biological classification, ethnicity has been more recently viewed as a “sociocultural” construction determined by the rules of the culture (Kato, 1996). A sociocultural definition of ethnicity focuses more on the values, customs, and rules that the members of an ethnic group share. Sociocultural definitions of ethnicity also recognize that a group of pepople may share the experience of being a minority (i.e., similar treatment at the hands of the majority society due to physical characteristics). This chapter will utilize black and African American interchangeably to refer to Americans who share common ancestral descent from people indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa (Jackson & Sellers, 1996). This definition relates to the socio-cultural aspects of being black or African American.

Letter and category fluency tasks are used to assess semantic knowledge, retrieval ability, and executive functioning. They appear to be useful in detecting different types of dementia, but accurate detection of neuropsychological impairment relies on appropriate normative data. Multiple regression analysis was used to develop demographically corrected norms for letter and category fluency in 768 normal adults. T-score equations were developed on a base subsample of 403, and crossvalidated on a separate subsample (n = 365). Participants ranged in age from 20 years to 101 years; in educational level from 0 to 20 years; 55% were Caucasian and 45% were African American. Together, age, education, and ethnicity were significant predictors of letter and category fluency performance, accounting for 15% and 25% of variance, respectively. Formulas and tables for converting raw fluency scores to demographically corrected T scores are presented.