Neurocognitive Functioning in Adolescents at Risk for Mental Health Problems.

BACKGROUND The main goal of the study was to assess the neurocognitive performance in adolescents at high psychometric risk for mental health problems. METHOD A sample of 48 participants at high risk for mental disorders and an age-gender matched healthy comparison group of 48 adolescents were identified from a community-derived sample of 1,509 adolescents. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire problems and the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery for children (included 14 tasks assessing five neurobehavioral domains: executive functions, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed) were used. RESULTS Relative to healthy comparison participants, individuals at high risk showed significant impairments across almost all neurocognitive domains (executive functions, episodic memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed). CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that neurocognitive impairments can be shown in adolescents at high psychometric risk for mental health problems before the onset of more severe psychological problems.