Associations of executive function with concurrent and prospective reports of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) have been widely observed in schizophrenia and linked with concurrent deficits in executive function. Less clear though is whether OCS are prospectively linked with executive function independent of anxiety level. To explore these issues, OCS, state anxiety, and executive function were assessed among 41 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Measures of OCS and anxiety were then readministered 6 months later. Correlations revealed that a factor score derived from baseline measures of the inhibition domain of executive function was linked to both concurrent and future assessments of OCS even when state anxiety was controlled.