Looking beyond the laboratory: Exploring behavioral and eye-fixation patterns in individuals with severe mental illness during a real-life supermarket task.

Individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI) often have difficulty performing daily activities that require intact executive functions, such as grocery shopping. Performance-based evaluations are valuable but lack the subjects' viewpoints during task performance. This study aims to combine performance-based observation and cognitive science methods to provide insights regarding real-life behavior and problem-solving in populations with SMI. In this correlational-research study, 42 participants (10 in the SMI group and 32 in the control group) performed the Test of Grocery Shopping Skills (TOGSS) while wearing an eye-tracking device. We hypothesized that patterns in task planning, task-time use, and attention allocation to written information relevant to the task would differ between the groups during the task. The results showed between-group differences in both TOGSS efficiency outcomes (time and redundancy), duration, and number of fixations. An eye-tracking pattern analysis determined between-group differences in scanning patterns of the grocery list but similarities in task planning. The selection process was found to be significantly more accurate and efficient for the control group than for the SMI group. Our findings suggest that a combination of perspectives allows us to better understand the behavior of SMI individuals in a regular daily task.

Evaluation of executive functions and everyday life for people with severe mental illness: A systematic review.

•Assessment tools have progressed from measuring specific components, to more comprehensive assessments.•Performance-based tools, has the potential to include an EF index as part of the test scoring.•Most researchers either chose short versions of the assessment tools to address the subjects' attentional capacities.•Using more than one evaluation method enabled to draw a more precise picture of the function.

The Internet and Computer User Profile: a questionnaire for determining intervention targets in occupational therapy at mental health vocational centers.

PURPOSE: In this study, the assessment tool "Internet and Computer User Profile" questionnaire (ICUP) is presented and validated. It was developed in order to gather information for setting intervention goals to meet current demands. METHODS: Sixty-eight subjects aged 23-68 participated in the study. The study group (n = 28) was sampled from two vocational centers. The control group consisted of 40 participants from the general population that were sampled by convenience sampling based on the demographics of the study group. Subjects from both groups answered the ICUP questionnaire. Subjects of the study group answered the General Self- Efficacy (GSE) questionnaire and performed the Assessment of Computer Task Performance (ACTP) test in order to examine the convergent validity of the ICUP. Twenty subjects from both groups retook the ICUP questionnaire in order to obtain test-retest results. Differences between groups were tested using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests. Pearson and Spearman's tests were used for calculating correlations. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and k equivalent were used to assess internal consistency. RESULTS: The results indicate that the questionnaire is valid and reliable. They emphasize that the layout of the ICUP items facilitates in making a comprehensive examination of the client's perception regarding his participation in computer and internet activities. Implications for Rehabiliation The assessment tool "Internet and Computer User Profile" (ICUP) questionnaire is a novel assessment tool that evaluates operative use and individual perception of computer activities. The questionnaire is valid and reliable for use with participants of vocational centers dealing with mental illness. It is essential to facilitate access to computers for people with mental illnesses, seeing that they express similar interest in computers and internet as people from the general population of the same age. Early intervention will be particularly effective for young adults dealing with mental illness, since the digital gap between them and young people in general is relatively small.