The paced auditory serial addition test for working memory assessment: Psychometric properties

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) was initially designed to evaluate cognitive deficits following traumatic brain injury.
• Working memory (WM) impairment is a significant indicator of aphasia.
• A Persian version of the PASAT was developed and administered to individuals with aphasia (IWA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the Persian version of the PASAT for assessing working memory in individuals with aphasia.
• To investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian PASAT, including convergent and divergent validity, and test-retest reliability.

Main Methods:

• The study included 25 individuals with aphasia and 85 healthy controls.
• Participants performed the Persian PASAT, involving auditory presentation of single digits and serial addition.
• Convergent validity was assessed using digit memory span tasks; divergent validity compared performance between IWA and control groups.

Main Results:

• The Persian PASAT showed moderate to strong correlations with digit memory span tests in both controls and IWA.
• High test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.95) was observed.
• The test demonstrated good divergent validity by differentiating between IWA and control groups.

Conclusions:

• The Persian PASAT is a valid and reliable tool for assessing working memory in individuals with aphasia.
• This test offers a feasible option for both clinical assessment and research applications in this population.