Examination of the Construct Validity of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Language Index in a Mixed Neurological Sample.

Abstract

We sought to examine the construct validity of the Language Index of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Archival neuropsychological data were collected for 2,057 individuals of diverse neurological etiologies. Correlations were seen between the RBANS Language Index and its indices (Semantic Fluency r = .727; Picture Naming r = .786), between Semantic Fluency and both Category Fluency (r = .379) and the Controlled Oral Word Association test (r = .375), and between Picture Naming and both Visual Naming from the Multilingual Aphasia Examination (r = .447) and the Boston Naming Test (r = .519). Finally, Picture Naming predicted performance on both Visual Naming [F(1,495) = 123.36, p < .000] and the Boston Naming Test [F(1,262) = 96.28, p < .000]. Given these results, support for the interpretation of RBANS Language Index appears warranted in a diverse clinical sample.