Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Psychometric Properties of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory: A Review
Toni Saari1,2, Anne Koivisto1,3,4,5, Taina Hintsa2
1University of Eastern Finland, Neurology, Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract:
Neuropsychiatric symptoms cause a significant burden to individuals with neurocognitive disorders and their families. Insights into the clinical associations, neurobiology, and treatment of these symptoms depend on informant questionnaires, such as the commonly used Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). As with any scale, the utility of the NPI relies on its psychometric properties, but the NPI faces unique challenges related to its skip-question and scoring formats. In this narrative review, we examined the psychometric properties of the NPI in a framework including properties pertinent to construct validation, and health-related outcome measurement in general. We found that aspects such as test-retest and inter-rater reliability are major strengths of the NPI in addition to its flexible and relatively quick administration. These properties are desired in clinical trials. However, the reported properties appear to cover only some of the generally examined psychometric properties, representing perhaps necessary but insufficient reliability and validity evidence for the NPI. The psychometric data seem to have significant gaps, in part because small sample sizes in the relevant studies have precluded more comprehensive analyses. Regarding construct validity, only one study has examined structural validity with the NPI subquestions. Measurement error was not assessed in the reviewed studies. For future validation, we recommend using data from all subquestions, collecting larger samples, paying specific attention to construct validity and formulating hypotheses a priori. Because the NPI is an outcome measure of interest in clinical trials, examining measurement error could be of practical importance.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Report Tests of Personality
Wechsler's Contribution to Measures of Intelligence
Measures of Intelligence
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this;...
Five-Factor Theory of Personality
Openness reflects creativity, curiosity, and openness to new experiences. Individuals scoring high in openness are imaginative, have a wide range of interests, and are independent...
Cattell's 16 Personality Factors
In contrast, source traits are the...
Reliability and Validity

