title: Construct Validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
abstract: 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.
authors: Centro de Investigação do Núcleo de Estudos e Intervenção Cognitivo Comportamental (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. sandrafreitas0209@gmail.com
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Freitas
authors: Mário R
authors: MR
authors: Simões
authors: João
authors: J
authors: Marôco
authors: Lara
authors: L
authors: Alves
authors: Isabel
authors: I
authors: Santana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires