Validation study of the Chinese version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (CNPI).

BACKGROUND

More validated instruments for assessment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia are required to facilitate local dementia research.

METHOD

The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the neuropsychiatric inventory (CNPI) were tested in a sample of 62 dementia outpatients. The concurrent validity was tested by measuring the Spearman correlation between CNPI subscales with the appropriate subscales of BEHAVE-AD and the Chinese Hamilton rating scale of depression (CHDS). The internal consistency reliability, false-negative rates of the screening questions of CNPI and inter-rater reliability were determined.

RESULT

Most CNPI behavioral domains achieved significant correlation with the corresponding BEHAVE-AD and CHDS subscales. Cronbach alpha for the overall reliability was 0.84. The false-negative rates of the screening question were acceptable except for the dysphoria, sleep and appetite domains. The inter-rater reliability was satisfactory with intraclass correlation coefficient of all subscales above 0.9.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrated the applicability of the CNPI in assessing the neuropsychiatric manifestations of dementia in the Chinese community.