title: Prediction of functional status in older adults: the ecological validity of four Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System tests.
abstract: This study tested the ecological validity of four Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) tests by examining how well performance on D-KEFS measures predicted observed daily functioning in community-dwelling older adults. Older adults ages 65 to 92 years completed four D-KEFS tests requiring planning and cognitive fluency. The four combined D-KEFS measures accounted for approximately 26% of the variance in observed functional ability, when controlling for education and depression, thus supporting the ecological validity of the D-KEFS (Pearson r = .66). However, in a multiple regression analysis, the D-KEFS Trail Making Test-4 was the only measure of executive functioning that accounted for unique, independent variance in observed functional ability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. mbmitch@uga.edu
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: L Stephen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification* / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012931:Social Environment