title: Construct validity of parent ratings of inhibitory control.
abstract: Recent literature has emphasized the need to examine executive functions (EF) in children using multiple sources, including both parent rating and performance-based measures. Computerized Go/No-Go tests, including commercially available continuous performance tests (CPTs), represent one of the most commonly used methods of assessing inhibitory control - a variable central to the executive function construct. We examined the relationship between parent ratings of inhibitory control and CPT performance in two mixed clinical samples. Experiment 1 examined 109 children ages 6-18 using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) and the Conners' CPT-II (Conners, 2000). In this sample, ratings on the BRIEF Inhibit scale (mean T-score = 62.3) were significantly higher than the CPT-II commissions score (mean T-score = 50.7; p < .0001); and the BRIEF and CPT-II scores were not highly correlated (r = - .12). Experiment 2 examined a sample of 131 children ages 7-18 using the BRIEF and the Tests of Variables of Attention (TOVA; Greenberg, 1996). In this sample, parent ratings on the BRIEF Inhibit scale (mean T-score = 56.8) were similar to TOVA commissions scores (mean T-score = 58.6; p = .33), although still poorly correlated (r = -.02). Factor analyses exploring covariance between BRIEF scales CPT-II variables (Experiment 1) and between BRIEF and TOVA (Experiment 2) yielded similar findings. In both experiments, all eight BRIEF scales loaded on a single factor, with no overlap with either the CPT-II or the TOVA. In mixed outpatient clinical samples, the BRIEF appears to measure different elements of inhibitory control than those assessed by computerized continuous performance tests.
authors.affiliation: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
authors.forename: L Elizabeth
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bodnar
authors.forename: M Cristine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Prahme
authors.forename: Laurie E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Cutting
authors.forename: Martha B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Denckla
authors.forename: E Mark
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mahone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis