Construct and concurrent validity of the Dementia Rating Scale-2 Alternate Form

The Dementia Rating Scale-2: Alternate Form (DRS-2: AF) was developed by Schmidt (2004) for use in serial neuropsychological assessments with the original DRS-2 (Jurica, Leitten, & Mattis, 2001). Results from two preliminary validation studies of the DRS-2: AF are presented here. In Study 1, the DRS-2: AF and four additional neuropsychological measures were administered to 49 healthy, community-dwelling participants without dementia; convergent and discriminant correlational analyses provide evidence for the construct validity of four DRS-2: AF subscales (Attention, Initiation/ Perseveration, Conceptualization, Memory). In Study 2, the DRS-2: AF and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were administered to a sample of 65 residents living in a continuing care retirement community (30 residents with dementia, 35 residents without dementia) to demonstrate the construct and concurrent validity of the DRS-2: AF Total Score. A strong correlation was found between the MMSE and DRS-2: AF Total Score. When DRS-2: AF Total Scores were subjected to a discriminant function analysis, Total Scores accurately classified 61 of the 65 participants into the appropriate patient group (dementia vs. comparison). The results of these preliminary validation studies are robust, and suggest that the DRS-2: AF may be a useful measure when serial assessments with the DRS-2 are needed.