Re-examining sustained attention deficits as vulnerability indicators for schizophrenia: Stability in the long term course

Abstract This study examined the longitudinal patterns in the sustained attention deficits detected by the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the factors influencing such changes in consecutively admitted schizophrenia patients ( n  = 224) followed up for 4–7 year. Exploratory growth mixture modeling analyses of subjects’ CPT performances over successive follow-ups revealed that three major (accounting for 92.8%) plus one minor subgroups could be delineated. Subgrouping was then performed on a subsample of 104 subjects who had at least 3 times of CPT data. Based on subjects’ adjusted z score of the test sensitivity index d ′ derived from comparing with a community sample, patients were divided into three subgroups: no impairment (⩾−1), moderate impairment (−2.5 to −1), and severe impairment (