Intermediate length neuropsychological screening of impairment among psychoactive substance-abusing patients: a comparison of two batteries

Two intermediate-length neuropsychological test batteries-the Brain Age Quotient-T Scored (BAQ-T) and the Neuropsychological Screening Battery (NSB)-were used to evaluate the cognitive functioning of substance-abusing patients. Patients entering residential treatment for substance abuse (n = 30) performed significantly worse on both batteries compared to demographically similar participants from a nonclinical control group (n = 30). Both batteries categorized over one third of the substance-abusing patients as cognitively impaired; the chance-corrected agreement (kappa) of the BAQ-T and NSB in classifying participants as either cognitively impaired or intact was satisfactory. The comparative merits and limitations of each battery are discussed.