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The Bivalent Shape Task in a Dutch primary school population: A pilot study for a first psychometric assessment
Susan Buhrs1, Thérèse van Amelsvoort1, Jacqueline Strik2
1Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Objective:
The Bivalent Shape Task (BST) tests the ability to suppress interfering information. The purpose of this study was to assess some psychometric properties of the BST in 5-11-year-old children, using multilevel analysis.
Methods:
The present study was initiated in a Dutch primary school in October 2019. The BST was administered as part of a larger neuropsychological assessment. The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequential lockdown in the Netherlands led to a premature termination of the study in March 2020. Data of 38 children were available. This dataset was analyzed and labeled as pilot.
Results:
Significant main effects of age, time components, levels, correct answer, and several interactions were found on the reaction time in the predicted direction. Random effects could also be modeled. A final statistical combination model is described.
Conclusion:
Despite the small study sample, it seems to be justified to conclude that the BST is a potentially valuable instrument to test interference suppression in 5-11-year-old children. In the analysis of the BST, multilevel analysis has proven to be very rewarding. Since the present study only examined a small part of reliability and validity aspects, further psychometric research is desired.
