Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T06:20:34.576Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Plan-a-Day Approach to Measuring Planning Ability in Patients with Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2011

Daniel V. Holt*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Katlehn Rodewald
Affiliation:
Section of Experimental Psychopathology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Mirjam Rentrop
Affiliation:
Section of Experimental Psychopathology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Joachim Funke
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Matthias Weisbrod
Affiliation:
Section of Experimental Psychopathology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Department of Psychiatry, SRH Klinikum Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
Stefan Kaiser
Affiliation:
Section of Experimental Psychopathology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Daniel V. Holt, Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Haupstr. 47-51, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Deficits in executive functioning are closely related to the level of everyday functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, many existing neuropsychological measures are limited in their ability to predict functional outcome. To contribute towards closing this gap, we developed a computer-based test of planning ability (“Plan-a-Day”) that requires participants to create daily activity schedules in a simulated work setting. Eighty patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were tested with Plan-a-Day and a battery of cognitive ability tests. Plan-a-Day showed satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of consistency, reliability, and construct validity. Compared to other neuropsychological tests used in this study, it also demonstrated incremental validity with regard to the Global Assessment of Functioning. The Plan-a-Day approach, therefore, seems to represent a valid alternative for measuring planning ability in patients with executive function deficits, occupying a middle ground between traditional neuropsychological tests and real-life assessments. (JINS, 2011, 17, 327–335)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackenheil, M., Dietz-Bauer, R., Vossen, A. (1998). Mini international neuropsychiatric interview, German version 5.0.0, DSM IV. München, Germany: Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik München.Google Scholar
Blessing, S.B., Ross, B.H. (1996). Content effects in problem categorization and problem solving. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22, 792810.Google Scholar
Bolton, B., Roessler, R. (1986). The work personality profile: Factor scales, reliability, validity, and norms. Vocational Evaluation & Work Adjustment Bulletin, 19, 143149.Google Scholar
Burgess, P.W. (2000). Strategy application disorder: The role of the frontal lobes in human multitasking. Psychological Research, 63, 279288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burgess, P.W., Alderman, N., Forbes, C., Costello, A., Coates, L.M.-A., Dawson, D.R., Channon, S. (2006). The case for the development and use of ‘ecologically valid’ measures of executive function in experimental and clinical neuropsychology. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12, 194209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burgess, P.W., Alderman, N., Volle, E., Benoit, R.G., Gilbert, S.J. (2009). Mesulam's frontal lobe mystery re-examined. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 27, 493506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burgess, P.W., Dumontheil, I., Gilbert, S.J. (2007). The gateway hypothesis of rostral prefrontal cortex (area 10) function. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 290298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaytor, N., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2003). The ecological validity of neuropsychological tests: A review of the literature on everyday cognitive skills. Neuropsychology Review, 13, 181197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaytor, N., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., Burr, R. (2006). Improving the ecological validity of executive functioning assessment. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 217227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craik, F.I.M., Bialystok, E. (2006). Planning and task management in older adults: Cooking breakfast. Memory & Cognition, 34, 12361249.Google Scholar
Frith, C.D. (1987). The positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia reflect impairments in the perception and initiation of action. Psychological Medicine, 17, 631648.Google Scholar
Funke, J., Krüger, T. (1995). “Plan-A-Day”: Konzeption eines modifizierbaren Instruments zur Führungskräfte-Auswahl sowie erste empirische Befunde [“Plan-A-Day”: Design of a modifiable instrument for selecting managerial personnel and first empricial results]. In J. Funke, T. Krüger, & A. Fritz (Eds.), Neue Konzepte und Instrumente zur Planungsdiagnostik (pp. 97120). Bonn, Germany: Deutscher Psychologen Verlag.Google Scholar
Goel, V., Grafman, J., Tajik, J., Gana, S., Danto, D. (1997). A study of the performance of patients with frontal lobe lesions in a financial planning task. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 120, 18051822.Google Scholar
Green, M.F. (1996). What are the functional consequences of neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia? The American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 321330.Google ScholarPubMed
Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Braff, D.L., Mintz, J. (2000). Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia: Are we measuring the “right stuff”? Schizophrenia Bulletin, 26, 119136.Google Scholar
Hilsenroth, M.J., Ackerman, S.J., Blagys, M.D., Baumann, B.D., Baity, M.R., Smith, S.R., Daniel, J.J. (2000). Reliability and validity of DSM-IV axis V. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 18581863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaeger, J., Douglas, E. (1992). Neuropsychiatric rehabilitation for persistent mental illness. Psychiatric Quarterly, 63, 7194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kalbe, E., Brand, M., Kessler, J. (2002). Zahlenverarbeitungs- und Rechentest (ZRT) [Number processing and arithmetic test (ZRT)] Weinheim, Germany: Beltz Verlag.Google Scholar
Kay, S.R., Fiszbein, A., Opfer, L.A. (1987). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13, 261276.Google Scholar
Knight, C., Alderman, N., Burgess, P.W. (2002). Development of a simplified version of the multiple errands test for use in hospital settings. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 12, 231255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohler, J., Beck, U. (2004). Planungstest. Konstanz, Germany: Kohler & Beck GbR.Google Scholar
Kurtz, M.M., Baker, E., Pearlson, G.D., Astur, R.S. (2007). A virtual reality apartment as a measure of medication management skills in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33, 11621170.Google Scholar
Larøi, F., Canlaire, J., Mourad, H., Van Der Linden, M. (2010). Relations between a computerized shopping task and cognitive tests in a group of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16, 180189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehrl, S., Triebig, G., Fischer, B. (1995). Multiple choice vocabulary test MWT as a valid and short test to estimate premorbid intelligence. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 91, 335345.Google Scholar
Manchester, D., Priestley, N., Jackson, H. (2004). The assessment of executive functions: Coming out of the office. Brain Injury, 18, 10671081.Google Scholar
Markela-Lerenc, J., Kaiser, S., Fiedler, P., Weisbrod, M., Mundt, C. (2006). Stroop performance in depressive patients: A preliminary report. Journal of Affective Disorders, 94, 261267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGeorge, P., Phillips, L.H., Crawford, J.R., Garden, S.E., Della Sala, S., Milne, A.B., Callender, J.S. (2001). Using virtual environments in the assessment of executive dysfunction. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10, 375383.Google Scholar
Morris, R.G., Rushe, T., Woodruffe, P.W.R., Murray, R.M. (1995). Problem solving in schizophrenia: A specific deficit in planning ability. Schizophrenia Research, 14, 235246.Google Scholar
Pantelis, C., Barnes, T.R., Nelson, H.E., Tanner, S., Weatherley, L., Owen, A.M., Robbins, T.W. (1997). Frontal-striatal cognitive deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Brain, 120, 18231843.Google Scholar
Rand, D., Rukan, S.B.A., Weiss, P.L., Katz, N. (2009). Validation of the Virtual MET as an assessment tool for executive functions. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 19, 583602.Google Scholar
Reitan, R.M. (1992). Trail Making Test: Manual for administration and scoring. Tuscon, AZ: Reitan Neuropsychology Laboratory.Google Scholar
Rempfer, M.V., Hamera, E.K., Brown, C.E., Cromwell, R.L. (2003). The relations between cognition and the independent living skill of shopping in people with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 117, 103112.Google Scholar
Robbins, T.W. (1990). The case for frontostriatal dysfunction in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 16, 391402.Google Scholar
Schelling, D. (1993). Corsi-Block-Tapping-Test. Mödling, Austria: Schuhfried.Google Scholar
Semkovska, M., Bédard, M.-A., Godbout, L., Limoge, F., Stip, E. (2004). Assessment of executive dysfunction during activities of daily living in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 69, 289300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shallice, T., Burgess, P.W. (1991). Deficits in strategy application following frontal lobe damage in man. Brain, 114, 727741.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Startup, M., Jackson, M.C., Bendix, S. (2002). The concurrent validity of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 417422.Google Scholar
Ufer, K. (2000). BADS: Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrom (German Version). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Velligan, D.I., Bow-Thomas, C.C., Mahurin, R.K., Miller, A.L., Halgunseth, L.C. (2000). Do specific neurocognitive deficits predict specific domains of community function in schizophrenia? Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 188, 518524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Aster, M., Neubauer, A., Horn, R. (2006). Wechsler-Intelligenztest für Erwachsene WIE [Wechsler Test of Intelligence for Adults WIE]. Frankfurt, Germany: Harcourt Test Services.Google Scholar
Wiedl, K.H., Uhlhorn, S. (2006). OAF-P: Osnabrücker Arbeitsfähigkeiten-Profil [OAF-P: Osnabrueck Work Ability Profile]. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Wilson, B.A., Alderman, N., Burgess, P.W., Emslie, H., Evans, J.J. (1996). BADS: Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome. Bury St Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.Google Scholar
Wilson, B.A., Evans, J.J., Emslie, H., Alderman, N., Burgess, P. (1998). The development of an ecologically valid test for assessing patients with dysexecutive syndrome. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 8, 213228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar