Normative Reference Values, Reliability, and Item-Level Symptom Endorsement for the PROMIS® v2.0 Cognitive Function-Short Forms 4a, 6a and 8a

Grant L Iverson; Jacqueline M Marsh; Eric J Connors; Douglas P Terry

doi:10.1093/arclin/acaa128

Normative Reference Values, Reliability, and Item-Level Symptom Endorsement for the PROMIS® v2.0 Cognitive Function-Short Forms 4a, 6a and 8a

Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2021 Oct 13;36(7):1341-1349. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acaa128.

Authors

Grant L Iverson^{1

2

3

4

5}, Jacqueline M Marsh^{4

6}, Eric J Connors^{4

6}, Douglas P Terry^{1

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Spaulding Research Institute, Charlestown, MA, USA.
³ MassGeneral Hospital for Children Sports Concussion Program, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Charlestown, MA, USA.
⁵ Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 33454756
DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acaa128

Abstract

Objective: Reliable, valid, and precise measures of perceived cognitive functioning are useful in clinical practice and research. We present normative data, internal consistency statistics, item-level symptom endorsement, and the base rates of symptoms endorsed for the PROMIS® v2.0 Cognitive Function-Short Forms.

Method: The four-, six -, and eight-item short form of the PROMIS® v2.0 Cognitive Function scale assess subjective cognitive functioning. We stratified the normative sample from the U.S. general population (n = 1,009; 51.1% women) by gender, education, health status, self-reported history of a depression or anxiety diagnosis, and recent mental health symptoms (i.e., feeling anxious or depressed in the past week) and examined cognitive symptom reporting.

Results: Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha and ranged from .85 to .95 for all three forms, across all groups. Mann-Whitney U test comparisons showed that individuals with past or present mental health difficulties scored significantly lower (i.e., worse perceived cognitive functioning) on the self-report questionnaires, particularly the eight-item form (history of depression, men: p < .001, Cohen's d = 1.07; women: p < .001, d = .99; history of anxiety, men: p < .001, d = 1.06; women: p < .001, d = .98; and current mental health symptoms, men: p < .001, d = 1.38; women: p < .001, d = 1.19).

Conclusions: All three short forms of the PROMIS® v2.0 Cognitive Function scale had strong internal consistency reliability, supporting its use as a reliable measure of subjective cognitive functioning. The subgroup differences in perceived cognitive functioning supported the relationship between emotional and cognitive well-being. This study is the first to present normative values and base rates for several community-dwelling subgroups, allowing for precise interpretation of these measures in clinical practice and research.

Keywords: Anxiety; Assessment; Depression; Norms/normative studies; Test construction.

MeSH terms

Anxiety* / diagnosis
Cognition*
Female
Humans
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Quality of Life
Reference Values
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

Spaulding Research Institute