title: [Validation of a cognitive complaints questionnaire for young adults: the relation between subjective memory complaints, prefrontal symptoms and perceived stress].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although subjective memory complaints are one of the most common causes behind visits to health services, there are hardly any validated instruments in Spanish for evaluating their magnitude. Since memory complaint questionnaires usually include items referring to attentional and executive aspects, it has been hypothesised that they may well be related with other processes that depend on the integrity of the prefrontal cortex.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of an instrument based on the Memory Failures in Everyday (MFE) questionnaire, thus providing a valuation over a broad sample of the Spanish population. A second aim of the study was to analyse the relations that exist between the appearance of the complaints, the symptoms of a prefrontal origin and perceived stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  The MFE-30 (a modified version of the MFE), the dysexecutive questionnaire and the perceived stress scale were administered to a sample of young adults from a non-clinical general population (n = 900).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analyses show that the MFE-30 is a single-factor questionnaire that evaluates a single construct called 'cognitive complaints'. Moreover, an intense pattern of correlations among these complaints, the symptoms of a prefrontal origin and perceived stress is observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The resulting scores show that the MFE-30 is a useful instrument in clinical practice. Findings are in line with those from previous studies, thus suggesting that there is a close relation among the appearance of cognitive complaints, the presence of prefrontal symptoms and perceived stress.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Básica II, Procesos Cognitivos, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Paz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lozoya-Delgado
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Sánchez de León
authors.forename: Eduardo J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Pedrero-Pérez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013030:Spain; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult