A Self-Report Scale for Mental and Motor Slowness: Preliminary Results

Author: Wess Jeanne A   Lopez Oscar L   Becker James T   Sanchez Jorge   Dew Mary Amanda  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1385-4046

Source: The Clinical Neuropsychologist (Neuropsychology, Development and Cognition: Sec, Vol.12, Iss.1, 1998-02, pp. : 92-100

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Abstract

A self-report slowness scale (SRSS) was developed to rate the severity of mental and motor slowness with items approximating general activities of daily life: housekeeping, personal care, recreation and leisure, cognitive skills, and reaction time. The scale was administered to 95 persons infected with HIV and 24 uninfected persons in the context of a comprehensive neurobehavioral evaluation. Analysis of internal consistency for the entire sample (Alpha = .9485) provided strong evidence of internal reliability, and strong evidence of stability was provided by SRSS scores taken 6 months apart, r(58) = .69, p < .001. Construct validity evidence was also strong: point biserial correlations of item-to-total scores for the entire sample were all above .77 (p < .001), and factor analysis for the HIV+ subjects yielded one factor accounting for 66.7% of the variance. Moderate evidence for criterion-related validity was illustrated through significant correlations of SRSS ratings with neuropsychological tests in which timing and memory are primary features.

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