Do parent and self-report rating scales of executive function measure the same constructs with adolescents?

There are numerous measures of executive function (EF), yet the multiple definitions and constructions of EF suggest that these measures may not be measuring the same construct or domains within EF. The purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of the BRIEF and the CEFI parent and self-report forms with adolescents.

Adolescent participants, ages 12-17 years, were recruited using a snowball method with recruitment targeting individuals from under-represented groups, as well as the general population. The resulting sample consisted of 52 cases with parent report. The adolescents were predominantly female (55.77%) and white (40.38%) with a mean age of 14.56 (1.72).

For parent and adolescent self-report on both the BRIEF and CEFI, mean global scores were within the average range. To examine whether the two rating scales were measuring the same underlying constructs of EF, a multi-trait-multi-method (MTMM) model was conducted using correlated traits correlated methods (CTCM) and correlated traits uncorrelated methods (CTUM).

While the global scores obtained for the instruments measure EF similarly, there is less consistency in how the subdomains parse out and are labeled for each of the two scales. Implications for practice are discussed.