Validation of the Chinese version of Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE
A test battery that measures cognitive function impairment in patients with schizophrenia, the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), has been translated into various languages and validated. This study aimed to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the BACS in a Chinese-speaking population.


METHODS
All participants in this study (66 patients with schizophrenia [mean age: 41.2 years, 57.6% male] and 66 age- and sex-matched healthy controls) were from Taiwan and assessed using the BACS and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Performance-Based Skills Assessment, Brief Version (UPSA-B). Thirty-eight of the 66 patients with schizophrenia received a reassessment using the BACS.


RESULTS
The BACS had good test-retest reliability, and all BACS subtests had statistically insignificant practice effects. Principal components analysis demonstrated that a one-factor solution best fits our dataset (60.9% of the variance). In both patients and controls, the BACS composite scores were positively correlated with all BACS subscales (P<0.001) and UPSA-B scales (P<0.001). Furthermore, all BACS subtests (verbal memory, working memory, motor speed, verbal fluency, attention and processing speed, and executive function) significantly differentiated patients with schizophrenia from healthy controls (P<0.001), and the BACS composite score had the best discriminative validity (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The Chinese version of the BACS exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties, including high test-retest reliability, high internal consistency, acceptable concurrent validity, and good discriminant validity. We suggest that the BACS is a reliable and practical tool for assessing cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Liang-Jen
LJ
Wang
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine; Institute for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
Pao-Yen
PY
Lin
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Yu
Y
Lee
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Yu-Chi
YC
Huang
Department of Community Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung.
Su-Ting
ST
Hsu
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Chi-Fa
CF
Hung
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung; Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chih-Ken
CK
Chen
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung; Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Yi-Chih
YC
Chen
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Ya-Ling
YL
Wang
Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
Ming-Che
MC
Tsai
cognitive function; psychometrics; reliability; schizophrenia; validity