[The psychometric value of the Verbal Short-Term Memory Scale by Arnold & Kohlmann in psychiatry]

Of various tests used to determine verbal short-term-memory deficits in mentally ill persons the Verbal Short-Term Memory Scale by Arnold and Kohlmann meets the important criteria of being fast, user-friendly and every day life-like, despite its old norms and questionable validity. The aim of this study was to assess the psychological value of this instrument by correlating it with those two subtests of the standardized Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), which assess verbal shortterm memory.

478 random patients at a university psychiatric hospital, who were referred for psychological testing, were examined with the Verbal Short-Term Memory Scale by Arnold & Kohlmann and the subtests "Logical Memory" and "Verbal Paired Associates" of the Wechsler Memory Scale.

Performance by the total sample on both memory tests was in the lowest or just below the range of dispersion for normal values. All scales of both tests showed significant positive correlation.

Despite its age the Verbal Short-Term Memory Scale by Arnold & Kohlmann is especially recommended for quick differential diagnosis of a patient's memory in an acute psychiatric examination.