Search

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Coimbra Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (BANC), which is an individually administered battery designed to assess a wide range of neurocognitive functions in children., Method: Using the standardization sample of the BANC, a confirmatory factor analysis and a multiple-group analysis were conducted to examine the factor structure and the measurement invariance of three main domains (Memory, Language, and Attention/Executive Functions) in 833 children aged 7-15 years., Results: Consistent with the BANC's conceptualization, the three-correlated-factor model demonstrated the most adequate fit to the data. The measurement invariance of the three-correlated-factor model across two age-groups (7-9 years and 10-15 years) was supported (configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance)., Conclusion: Overall, the BANC shows adequate psychometric properties and provides useful information regarding the children's neuropsychological functioning., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The psychometric properties of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were examined by using the Partial Credit Model. The study sample included 897 participants who were distributed into two main subgroups: (I) the clinical group (90 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, 90 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 33 patients with Frontotemporal Dementia, and 34 patients with Vascular dementia, whose diagnoses were previously established according to a consensus that was reached by a multidisciplinary team, based on the international criteria) and (II) the healthy group (composed of 650 cognitively healthy community dwellers). The results show (i) an overall good fit for both the items and the persons' values, (ii) high variability for the cognitive performance level of the cognitive domains (ranging between 1.90 and -3.35, where "Short-term Memory" was the most difficult item and "Spatial Orientation" was the easiest item) and between the subjects on the scale, (iii) high reliability for the estimation of the persons' values, (iv) good discriminant validity and high diagnostic utility, and (v) a minimal differential item functioning effect related to of pathology, gender, age, and educational level. MoCA and its cognitive domains are suitable measures to use for screening the cognitive status of cognitively healthy subjects and patients with cognitive impairment., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

In the present study we analyzed the psychometric characteristics of the MoCA (Portuguese version) using the Rasch model for dichotomous items. The total sample comprised of 897 participants distributed between two main subgroups: (I) healthy group that was comprised of 650 cognitively healthy community dwellers and (II) clinical group that was comprised of 90 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, 90 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 33 patients with frontotemporal dementia, and 34 patients with vascular dementia recruited at a reference dementia clinic. All patients were investigated through a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, laboratory tests essential to exclude a reversible form of dementia, imaging studies (CT or MRI and SPECT or FDG-PET), Apolipoprotein E allele genotyping and CSF biomarker (Aβ42,Tau, and P-tau) analyses. The clinical diagnosis was established through the consensus of a multidisciplinary team, based on international criteria. The results demonstrated an overall good fit of both items and the person's values, a high variability on cognitive performance level, and a good quality of the measurements. The MoCA scores also demonstrated adequate discriminant validity, with high diagnostic value. DIF analyses indicated the generalized validity of the MoCA scores. In conclusion, the results of this study show the overall psychometric adequacy of the MoCA and verify the discriminant and generalized validity of the obtained results.

The Clock Drawing Test has been systematically used to assess visuospatial deficits related to the parietal lobes, but we now acknowledge its much more complex relation with other cognitive abilities. Despite its common use in clinical and investigational practices, no study has developed normative data for the Portuguese population. We present the distribution of clock drawing scores using three scoring systems in a representative community sample of cognitively healthy subjects. We found that the systems were well correlated with each other and with cognitive screening tests widely used and had good psychometric properties. Normative data for the three scoring systems were developed considering age and education. These results allow a more rigorous interpretation of the test performance in clinical context and are especially relevant for epidemiological research.

Objective: The present study aims to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the TeLPI (Irregular Words Reading Test), a Portuguese premorbid intelligence test, using the Rasch model for dichotomous items. Results: The results reveal an overall adequacy and a good fit of values regarding both items and persons. A high variability of cognitive performance level and a good quality of the measurements were also found. The TeLPI has proved to be a unidimensional measure with reduced DIF effects. Conclusions: The present findings contribute to overcome an important gap in the psychometric validity of this instrument and provide good evidence of the overall psychometric validity of TeLPI results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief instrument developed for the screening of milder forms of cognitive impairment. The present study aims to assess the construct related validity of the MoCA through the establishment of the factorial, convergent, and discriminant related validities, and the reliability of data. In a Portuguese sample of 830 participants, several models were tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Although all tested models showed a good fit, the six-factor model based on the conceptual model proposed by the MoCA's authors showed a significantly better fit. The results allowed us to establish the factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity of this six-dimensional structure. An overall psychometric adequacy of the items, and a good reliability were also found. This study contributes to overcome an important gap in the construct related validity of this instrument. The present findings corroborate the six-dimensional structure of the MoCA and provide good evidence of the construct related validity. The MoCA has proved to be an appropriate measure for cognitive screening taking into account different cognitive domains, which will enable clinicians and researchers to use this test and its six latent dimensions to achieve a better understanding of the individuals’ cognitive profile. (JINS, 2012, 18, 242–250) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Coimbra's Neuropsychological Assessment Battery contains, amongst several other assessment instruments, a Colours Rapid Naming test for children aged 5-6, a Digits Rapid Naming test and a Shapes and Colours Rapid Naming test, both for children aged 7-15. This work presents data concerning these tests psychometric properties, namely temporal stability, tests' intercorrelations, degree of relationship with academic grades and differentiation of groups of children with and without learning problems. The results obtained show, on the one hand, the tests psychometric adequacy and, on the other hand, indicate that the Digits and Shapes and Colours Rapid Naming tests should not be regarded as equivalents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]