Validity of the Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT): relationships with functional tasks.
OBJECTIVE
The Behavioral Inattention Test (BIT) is a standardized assessment for unilateral visual neglect. It comprises six conventional and nine behavioral subtests. The purpose of this study was to add to the validation of the behavioral subtests.


METHODS
Forty Israeli subjects with right cerebrovascular accident (CVA), from both day center and hospital settings, were evaluated on three measures: the BIT, performance tasks, and a checklist of activities of daily living (ADL).


RESULTS
Seven of the nine BIT behavioral subtests differentiated significantly between subjects with visual neglect and those without neglect; six of the nine subtests correlated significantly with parallel performance tasks or ADL checklist items.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support the construct and predictive validity of most of the BIT behavioral subtests as functional measures of unilateral neglect, thus, the BIT is recommended for use by occupational therapists. Inclusion of a relative score for right and left omissions within the BIT is recommended.
Hartman-Maeir
A
A
School of Occupational Therapy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Katz
N
N
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology