The relationship between self‐reported executive performance and psychological characteristics in multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Self-reports of executive performance are generally reliable, but 29% of patients with MS underestimated or overestimated their abilities. It is especially important to identify underestimators as they display underlying psychological problems and dysfunctional coping styles in need of further psychological treatment. Informants are valuable in this respect, but should not be seen as the 'gold standard' to identify cognitive impairment.

Predictors of executive complaints and executive deficits in multiple sclerosis

“…This is partly consistent with previous studies reporting weak relations between subjective and objective measures of cognitive function in MS (6). It is further in agreement with previous studies suggesting that depressed MS patients may underestimate their cognitive performance (11,12).…”

“…Earlier findings by Bruce and Arnett (14) partly supported these results as they found that mildly depressed MS patients underestimated their cognitive performance while moderately depressed patients accurately estimated their cognitive performance. Van der Hiele (6) found that nearly 30% of patients with executive problems either underestimated or overestimated their cognitive abilities. Those who underestimated their performance reported more depression, anxiety, and psychosocial stress.…”

“…The symptoms vary from patient to patient (5), but on group level, memory and learning dysfunction, slowed information processing speed and deficits in executive function are common (2). In a recent study of patients with MS (pwMS), nearly 20% reported subjective complaints of executive impairment (6).…”

Validation and interpretation of the Dutch version of the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire

“…With the growing interest in self assessment scales understanding the background of disagreement is of increasing importance. It has been subject to research before and possible explaining factors are depression, anxiety and caregiver burden [28][29][30].…”

Daily hassles reported by Dutch multiple sclerosis patients

“…All subjects gave informed consent. More details about the main research project can be found in our recent paper on self-reported executive performance in MS [18].…”