This study assessed the validity (construct validity) and reliability (internal consistency) of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery Screening Module (S-NAB) in detecting mild cognitive deficit/alteration in multicultural, multilingual, and multiethnic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) population of Malaysia. S-NAB and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) data from 114 patients with mTBI (93 males; 21 females) aged 18 to 60 years old were obtained at University Malaya Medical Center, Malaysia. The mean age was 28.17 ± 8.57 years and mean education years was 12.40 ± 2.01. Convergent validity was assessed between S-NAB domain scores and MoCA total scores by using Pearson's correlation and internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Acceptable internal consistency (α ≥ .70) was found for Attention, Language, and Memory domains but weak internal consistencies (α
There is a growing need to conduct a neuropsychological assessment with bilingual Middle Eastern populations, particularly those who speak the Persian language (Farsi). Although validated neuropsychological and language tests have emerged in Iran, there remains a shortage of appropriate psychometric tests in the U.S. that have been validated for use with the Iranian-American population. This often leads to an assortment of using U.S. tests in English, U.S. tests translated into Farsi, and Iranian tests in Farsi, which can complicate the clinical assessment. To better understand common testing issues when working with bilingual Iranian-American patients, we review the first report of a 62-year-old, bilingual (English-Farsi) Iranian-American male with 18-years of education who was tested using U.S.-developed and Iranian-developed tests in both English and Farsi language. Pre-surgical, 6 months post-surgical, and 1.5 years of post-surgical assessment data are discussed. We highlight the strengths and limitations of naming tests, test used in the native country versus U.S. language tests, the importance of baseline testing, general bilingual Persian-English assessment considerations, and case-based learning points.
One of the most comprehensive approaches to explaining attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms is Barkley's behavioral inhibition model (BBIM) (1997), in which behavioral inhibition (BI) plays a primary role. Due to the substantial role of working memory (WM) in explaining ADHD symptoms, Barkley recently updated his model and elevated WM from a mediator variable (in BBIM) to a primary position as an exogenous variable alongside BI, and titled his new model as Barkley's updated executive functioning model (BUEFM). However, since the information about the explanatory power of the new model is sparse, this study aims to investigate the impact of this change in WM role by comparing these two models to explain ADHD symptoms. The study involved a sample of 184 (96 females and 88 males) undergraduate students with high ADHD symptoms who were selected using the purposive sampling method. For assessing models, we have utilized four tools that include: CNS-Vital Sign Test Battery; Barkley Deficit in Executive Functioning Scale; self-verbalization questionnaire (SVQ); and trail making test. We analyzed the data by running structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using IBM AMOS software version 22. The results show that Model Comparison Measurement (e.g. AIC was 197.583 and 144.614 for BBIM and BUEFM, respectively) and Model Fit Indices (e.g. root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) obtained 0.076 and 0.067 for BBIM and BUEFM, respectively) representing that BUEFM had a better value than BBIM, which means that the BUEFM was considered better fitting to the data. The findings of this study show that BUEFM has more Predictive power than BBIM to predict symptoms of ADHD through the motor control fluency (MOT) variable.