Reliability and Validity of the Malay Version of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS): Preliminary Results

Abstract

Cognitive impairment is a main feature of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients demonstrate impairments in several key dimensions of cognitions and these impairments are closely associated with functional out come. The importance of cognitive assessment has been broadly accepted today; therefore an easy administered test battery is needed by researchers and in daily clinical practice. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), a cognitive assessment tool has been validated internationally in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Italian. This preliminary study was performed to test the reliability and validity of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) as an assessment tool in a Malay-language version (BACS-M). Participants Data were collected from 26 outpatients with schizophrenia who had given written informed consent to participate in the research. Measurements Tests included in the BACS-M are as follows: verbal fluency, verbal memory list learning, token motor test, symbol coding, digit sequencing task, and Tower of London. Results The mean duration of completion for the BACS Malay version was 39.27 min (S.D. = 9.03 min). The Malay version of t he BACS showed high test -retest reliability (ICC = 0.89). The BACS-M composite score was significantly correlated with all primary measures of the BACS-consecutive assessments. Thus, this preliminary study indicates that the BACS-M is a reliable and a practical scale to evaluate cognitive function in schizophrenia patients for Malay speaking patients.