Validation of the Prospective Memory Concerns Questionnaire (PMCQ)

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Prospective memory (PM) is crucial for daily functioning, but impairments are common in neurological conditions.
• PM deficits impact health, safety, and independence.
• The Prospective Memory Concerns Questionnaire (PMCQ) is a self-report tool designed to assess memory concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To confirm the factor structure of the PMCQ in the general adult population.
• To examine the relationship between the PMCQ and naturalistic performance-based PM measures.
• To evaluate the PMCQ's utility in conjunction with performance-based assessments.

Main Methods:

• A community-based sample of 558 adults completed the PMCQ and naturalistic event-based and time-based PM tasks.
• Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used to validate the PMCQ's factor structure.
• Correlations were calculated between PMCQ subscales and performance-based PM tasks.

Main Results:

• The PMCQ demonstrated acceptable fit for a higher-order, three-subscale model (35 items).
• The questionnaire exhibited good internal consistency (total α = 0.95).
• The Forgetting Behaviors subscale correlated significantly with event-based PM performance (r = -0.14, p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

• The PMCQ is a suitable measure for assessing general population adults' concerns about forgetting behaviors.
• The PMCQ may aid in identifying needs for compensation strategies or support services.
• Combining the PMCQ with performance-based tasks offers a comprehensive PM assessment.