TY - JOUR
T1 - An item response theory analysis of the Executive Interview and development of the EXIT8
T2 - A project FRONTIER study
AU - Jahn, Danielle R.
AU - Dressel, Jeffrey A.
AU - Gavett, Brandon E.
AU - O'Bryant, Sid E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research was conducted at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant number AG039389], [grant number L60MD001849]. Address correspondence to: Sid E. O’Bryant, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA (E‐mail: sid.o’bryant@unthsc.edu). Present addresses of Danielle R. Jahn are VA Capitol Health Care Network (VISN 5) Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA and University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2015/3/16
Y1 - 2015/3/16
N2 - Introduction: The Executive Interview (EXIT25) is an effective measure of executive dysfunction, but may be inefficient due to the time it takes to complete 25 interview-based items. The current study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the EXIT25, with a specific focus on determining whether a briefer version of the measure could comprehensively assess executive dysfunction. Method: The current study applied a graded response model (a type of item response theory model for polytomous categorical data) to identify items that were most closely related to the underlying construct of executive functioning and best discriminated between varying levels of executive functioning. Participants were 660 adults ages 40 to 96 years living in West Texas, who were recruited through an ongoing epidemiological study of rural health and aging, called Project FRONTIER. The EXIT25 was the primary measure examined. Participants also completed the Trail Making Test and Controlled Oral Word Association Test, among other measures, to examine the convergent validity of a brief form of the EXIT25. Results: Eight items were identified that provided the majority of the information about the underlying construct of executive functioning; total scores on these items were associated with total scores on other measures of executive functioning and were able to differentiate between cognitively healthy, mildly cognitively impaired, and demented participants. In addition, cutoff scores were recommended based on sensitivity and specificity of scores. Conclusion: A brief, eight-item version of the EXIT25 may be an effective and efficient screening for executive dysfunction among older adults.
AB - Introduction: The Executive Interview (EXIT25) is an effective measure of executive dysfunction, but may be inefficient due to the time it takes to complete 25 interview-based items. The current study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the EXIT25, with a specific focus on determining whether a briefer version of the measure could comprehensively assess executive dysfunction. Method: The current study applied a graded response model (a type of item response theory model for polytomous categorical data) to identify items that were most closely related to the underlying construct of executive functioning and best discriminated between varying levels of executive functioning. Participants were 660 adults ages 40 to 96 years living in West Texas, who were recruited through an ongoing epidemiological study of rural health and aging, called Project FRONTIER. The EXIT25 was the primary measure examined. Participants also completed the Trail Making Test and Controlled Oral Word Association Test, among other measures, to examine the convergent validity of a brief form of the EXIT25. Results: Eight items were identified that provided the majority of the information about the underlying construct of executive functioning; total scores on these items were associated with total scores on other measures of executive functioning and were able to differentiate between cognitively healthy, mildly cognitively impaired, and demented participants. In addition, cutoff scores were recommended based on sensitivity and specificity of scores. Conclusion: A brief, eight-item version of the EXIT25 may be an effective and efficient screening for executive dysfunction among older adults.
KW - Aging
KW - Brief assessment
KW - Cognition
KW - Executive functioning
KW - Item response theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84929955126&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13803395.2014.1002757
DO - 10.1080/13803395.2014.1002757
M3 - Article
C2 - 25748691
AN - SCOPUS:84929955126
SN - 1380-3395
VL - 37
SP - 229
EP - 242
JO - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
JF - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
IS - 3
ER -