Development of the Brief Assessment of Prospective Memory (BAPM) for use with traumatic brain injury populations

Impairment of prospective memory (PM) is a common problem following traumatic brain injury (TBI) which can affect functional outcomes. PM failures in everyday life can be assessed using self-report questionnaires; however, existing measures tend to be lengthy, which may be problematic for individuals with fatigue and other cognitive impairments. This study aimed to develop a short form of the Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory (CAPM) and examine its psychometric properties. Using theoretical and statistical considerations, the number of items on the CAPM was reduced to 16 including equal numbers representing the basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) subscales. The psychometric properties of the new measure, named the Brief Assessment of Prospective Memory (BAPM), were examined by secondary analysis of data from two samples of community dwelling adults (aged 17 to 91 years, n = 527, and 15 to 60 years, n = 95) with no history of brain injury, and a sample of rehabilitation patients with moderate to severe TBI (n = 45). Results indicate that the BAPM has a robust factor structure, strong agreement with the original CAPM, acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and evidence of criterion-related validity with psychosocial integration as the point of reference for people with TBI.