Jovanovski Diana, Zakzanis Konstantine, Ruttan Lesley, Campbell Zachariah, Erb Suzanne, Nussbaum David
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Appl Neuropsychol Adult. 2012;19(3):207-20. doi: 10.1080/09084282.2011.643956. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
The current investigation sought to further establish the psychometric properties and ecological validity of the Multitasking in the City Test (MCT) in a clinical population. Ecological validity was addressed via correlational analyses between performance on this test and a subjective measure of everyday executive functioning (Frontal Systems Behavior Scale; FrSBe). The sample was composed of 13 individuals (11 males) who suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury. A neuropsychological test battery consisting of the MCT and common executive and nonexecutive measures was administered. The only executive function tests that were significantly related to the FrSBe were the MCT and a semantic fluency test. Compared with a sample of normal participants, the patient group produced better plans but completed fewer tasks on the MCT. Patients made similar types of errors as normals, although some of these errors occurred more frequently in the patient sample. This study demonstrated the ecological validity of the MCT and suggested that patients can be differentiated from healthy individuals by quantitative (i.e., number of errors) rather than qualitative (i.e., type of errors) aspects of performance. Further interpretation of MCT performance and comparison with existing executive function tests is discussed.
当前的调查旨在进一步确定城市多任务测试（MCT）在临床人群中的心理测量特性和生态效度。通过对该测试的表现与日常执行功能的主观测量（额叶系统行为量表；FrSBe）之间进行相关分析来探讨生态效度。样本由13名中风或创伤性脑损伤患者（11名男性）组成。实施了一套包括MCT以及常见执行和非执行测量的神经心理测试组合。唯一与FrSBe显著相关的执行功能测试是MCT和语义流畅性测试。与正常参与者样本相比，患者组在MCT上制定的计划更好，但完成的任务更少。患者犯的错误类型与正常人相似，尽管其中一些错误在患者样本中出现的频率更高。这项研究证明了MCT的生态效度，并表明可以通过表现的定量（即错误数量）而非定性（即错误类型）方面将患者与健康个体区分开来。文中还讨论了对MCT表现的进一步解读以及与现有执行功能测试的比较。
