The Stroop Color-Word Test - Short Form (SCWT-SF): Updated norms and validity in an Italian population sample

More than two decades ago, normative data for two interference indices (Error Interference Effect, EIE; Time Interference Effect, TIE) from a short form of the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT-SF) were established in Italy. The present study aimed to update the normative data for the Italian SCWT-SF by extending the assessment beyond interference indices to include completion times and error counts across the three task conditions, namely Word Reading (W), Color Naming (C), and Color-Word Interference (CW), and to provide evidence supporting its construct validity.

N = 317 healthy adults (195 females; age: 62.79 ± 11.97 years, range = 40-89; education 13.17 ± 4.03 years, range = 5-23) completed the SCWT-SF (3 color; 30 items per condition) and a test battery assessing processing speed (Psychomotor Speed Test; Trail-Making Test - Part A) and executive functioning (EF) (Saccade and Antisaccade Test; Digit Ordering Test; Trail-Making Test - Part B). Norms were derived for each SCWT-SF measure using the Equivalent Score method. Correlational analyses explored construct validity.

Older age and lower education negatively affected SCWT-SF scores. Female sex was associated with lower completion times on C condition. No predictors emerged for errors in W condition. Word-reading and color-naming outcomes were associated with measures of processing speed, while the CW condition and interference indices with tests of inhibitory control, working memory, and set-shifting.

We provided updated, regression-based normative data for the Italian SCWT-SF, encompassing individual scores across its three conditions and the original interference indices, and evidence supporting its convergent validity with measures of processing speed and EF.