Evaluation of reliability and validity of the Boston diagnostic aphasia examination (BDAE-2) in a Serbian population

The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) has been extensively utilized in Serbia; however, data on its psychometric properties within this context are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the BDAE-2 in Serbian-speaking individuals with aphasia. The sample comprised 119 participants with stroke-induced aphasia and 51 neurologically healthy speakers. A Serbian translation of the second edition of the BDAE was administered to all participants. Findings indicated that the Serbian version of the BDAE-2 exhibited strong internal consistency, high inter-rater reliability, satisfactory construct validity, and robust discriminative capacity for differentiating individuals with aphasia from neurotypical speakers. Furthermore, specific subtests effectively distinguished between various aphasia types and demonstrated sensitivity to aphasia severity levels. Sociodemographic factors (gender, education, age) significantly influenced assessments of certain language abilities. In conclusion, the BDAE-2 was found to be a reliable diagnostic tool for assessing aphasia in Serbian speakers, showcasing favorable psychometric properties.