The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS): Ecological, Concurrent and Construct Validity

Abstract

Issues of validity, and in particular ecological validity, are a current concern for tests examining disorders of executive abilities related to frontal systems dysfunction. The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS, Wilson et al., 1996) was developed in response to the need for better neuropsychological tests in this area. The present study examines the validity of the BADS, along with six other commonly used tests of executive ability in two groups of participants with either neurological disorder (n = 36) or without brain damage (n = 37). The BADS and most of its subtests correlate significantly with the standard executive tests indicating that it possesses adequate concurrent validity. In terms of construct validity, it is comparable to standard executive tests in discriminating between neurological and non-brain-damaged participants. The ecological validity of the BADS is superior to standard executive tests in terms of predicting competency in role functioning.