Implications from factor analysis for central auditory processing disorders

Central auditory processing disorders among school-age children have been challenging to identify and treat. Many issues remain that need to be resolved. Here, we compare and contrast findings on 331 school-age children who were given two of the more common central auditory processing disorder tests (Staggered Spondaic Word [SSW] Test and the SCAN Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders). These results replicate and reinforce many of the psychometric findings reported earlier. The use of factor analysis with these test results was explored. Significantly, two factors emerged, including an auditory binaural separation from competition factor and a monaural low redundancy degradation factor. These findings help us define the nature of processes probed by the SCAN screening test and the SSW test. Furthermore, these findings clarify the use of SSW and SCAN because they showed both SSW Left Competing and Right Competing loading within the same factor, whereas the three subtests on SCAN sorted into two rather than three factors.