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Date of Award

9-2011

Access Type

Campus Access

Document type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Rebecca Ready

Second Advisor

Bradley Crenshaw

Third Advisor

Cynthia Jacelon

Abstract

The Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) is a 46-item questionnaire that measures behavioral dysfunction associated with frontal subcortical dysfunctions; specifically, apathy, disinhibition, and executive dysfunction, in adult neurologic populations (Grace & Malloy, 2001). The current study aimed to revise the FrSBe to improve the reliability and validity of the measure. Scale revision was determined by the best fitting model using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), results from a previous EFA on a separate dataset (Stout et al., 2001), and cognitive interviewing (Knafl et al., 2007). Improvement in reliability was measured by comparing the internal consistency reliability of the revised to the original scale and change in validity was determined by comparing the classification accuracy of patient groups (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and patients with frontal dysfunction) in the original and revised models. The best fitting model removed 10 items from the original measure, and improved model fit over the original FrSBe. Significant differences were not observed between the reliability and validity of the original compared to the revised scale, although the reliabilities and validities in both versions were strong. Revising the FrSBe resulted in a briefer, more concise tool (with less potentially confusing items) measuring behavioral abilities in various adult neurologic samples.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/5683564

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