Intermediate length neuropsychological screening of impairment among psychoactive substance-abusing patients: a comparison of two batteries.
Two intermediate-length neuropsychological test batteries-the Brain Age Quotient-T Scored (BAQ-T) and the Neuropsychological Screening Battery (NSB)-were used to evaluate the cognitive functioning of substance-abusing patients. Patients entering residential treatment for substance abuse (n = 30) performed significantly worse on both batteries compared to demographically similar participants from a nonclinical control group (n = 30). Both batteries categorized over one third of the substance-abusing patients as cognitively impaired; the chance-corrected agreement (kappa) of the BAQ-T and NSB in classifying participants as either cognitively impaired or intact was satisfactory. The comparative merits and limitations of each battery are discussed.
Fals-Stewart
W
W
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA. falste@harvarda.harvard.edu
D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010343:Patient Admission; D011594:Psychometrics; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs