Executive functioning and memory for the Rey-Osterreith complex figure task among community adolescents

Although there is empirical support for the link between executive functioning (EF) and visual memory among adults, there has been less exploration of this link among children, especially adolescents. We examined the relation between several EF measures and performance on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (RCF) in a sample of 160 community adolescents. Each was administered the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT), and the RCF, scored using Bernstein and Waber's (1996) Developmental Scoring System (DSS). Ability to organize the RCF related to memory encoding/retrieval, but not to long-term storage. Indexes derived from the WCST and CPT failed to correlate with any RCF index, raising questions about the relation between DSS scores and EF. Even so, data supported the convergent validity of the DSS system as a reflection of visual-constructional ability and provided evidence of the importance of organizational strategies to visual memory among adolescents.