The comparison of executive function among students with / without depression in Shiraz

Effect of executive function deficit among individuals with depression disorder are growing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the executive function among students with depression and without depression. Methods: Ex post facto method was used on 15 students with depression and 15 students without depression from students of academic year 2016- 2017 of Shiraz University who were selected through multi-stage random sampling. At first, 200 students were selected by multistage random sampling method from the all-undergraduate students and they have completed Beck Depression Inventory to select the subjects with depression and Millon clinical multiaxial inventory (MCMI III) in order to exclude subjects with personality disorder criteria. Then, students with depression were chosen. 15 students with depression and 15 without depression completed Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The findings were analyzed through descriptive statistic, Multivariate variance analysis using SPSS version 16. Results: The sample ranged from 20-24 with an average age of 19.55. Results indicated that there are the difference between two groups in perseveration error (PE), total errors, and number of categories completed (P<0.05). Conclusion: Since deficits in cognitive performance and executive function might result in depression, attention to these factors to be modified is efficient.