Development of a scale of executive functioning for the RBANS

Abstract

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is a cognitive battery that contains scales of several cognitive abilities, but no scale in the instrument is exclusively dedicated to executive functioning. Although the subtests allow for observation of executive-type errors, each error is of fairly low base rate, and healthy and clinical normative data are lacking on the frequency of these types of errors, making their significance difficult to interpret in isolation. The aim of this project was to create an RBANS executive errors scale (RBANS EE) with items comprised of qualitatively dysexecutive errors committed throughout the test. Participants included Veterans referred for outpatient neuropsychological testing. Items were initially selected based on theoretical literature and were retained based on item-total correlations. The RBANS EE (a percentage calculated by dividing the number of dysexecutive errors by the total number of responses) was moderately related to each of seven established measures of executive functioning and was strongly predictive of dichotomous classification of executive impairment. Thus, the scale had solid concurrent validity, justifying its use as a supplementary scale. The RBANS EE requires no additional administration time and can provide a quantified measure of otherwise unmeasured aspects of executive functioning.

Cross-Validating the Executive Errors Scale of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

“…The RBANS-EE still provided relevant data and merits additional research, but it has yet to demonstrate stand-alone validity as an EF measure. These conclusions differ from the results of other recent efforts to validate the RBANS-EE (Bolton et al, 2020;Ringdahl et al, 2019;Spencer et al, 2018).…”

“…As noted earlier, the RBANS-EE scale is an EF composite index that and is a summation of errors committed on the List Learning, Semantic Fluency, Coding, and List Recall subtests, divided by the total responses (including errors) on those subtests (Spencer et al, 2018). The RBANS-EE score is multiplied by 100 to generate a percentage score.…”

Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) Clinical Normative Data for Gulf War Veterans

“…In addition, direct measurement of executive functioning, an especially sensitive domain of cognitive functioning that requires careful assessment and nuanced interpretation, is difficult with current RBANS subtests. A method of analyzing errors on the RBANS to assess for executive dysfunction has been developed, but this approach is not yet established as a replacement for more direct measures of this complex construct 46 . In addition, as the RBANS can be completed in less than an hour, certain concerns common in this population fluctuate and may not present during the short window during which the GWV is being assessed (e.g., cognitive fatigue may require longer than 30 minutes to manifest).…”

Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training (SMART) in multiple sclerosis (MS): study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial

“…The RBANS is a brief test of cognitive abilities across multiple domains, with domain composite scores derived from 12 subtests (list learning, story memory, figure copy, line orientation, picture naming, semantic fluency, digit span, coding, list recall, list recognition, story recall, figure recall). Subtests also support the derivation of an executive errors scale (reflecting executive functioning) [ 46 ]. Normative data provide age- and education-corrected scores [ 47 ] and these can be used to further define cognitive impairment as scoring ≥1 SD below the mean on ≥1 RBANS- composite [ 48 ].…”