The Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure Test: norms for young adolescents and an examination of validity

Although recent studies have investigated theoretically relevant aspects of performance and psychometric properties of the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure Test (ROCFT), there is no documentation of the instrument's construct and predictive validity in an unselected, nonclinical population. This is necessary because knowledge of base rates of poor performance in the general population is required to evaluate the significance of performance deficits in clinical populations. The ROCFT was administered to 740 children aged 13 years who are members of an unselected birth cohort, representative of the general population. Normative findings are presented. Correlational analysis indicated that performance on the ROCFT was closely related to performance on the Block Design and Object Assembly subtests of the WISC-R. The first documentation was obtained of the ROCFT's predictive validity. Subjects in an unselected nonclinical sample who had a history of central nervous system health problems scored below the rest of the sample. Implications for the continued use of this instrument are discussed.