Concordance of informant and self-reported ratings on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale in adult survivors of pediatric brain tumor

Abstract

Objective: It has been theorized that pediatric brain tumor survivors may have reduced insight into their executive functioning. Agreement between informants and survivors has been used to probe this theory, but findings have been inconsistent. This study sought to expand on prior work by examining the relationship between participant role and ratings on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) among 73 adult survivors and their informants. This study also sought to test whether agreement on scores varied as a function of tumor treatment. Method: Dyadic mixed effects models examined the relationship between participant ratings on FrSBe subscales and the role of a participant (survivor or informant). Intraclass correlations (ICC) were used to calculate reliable change indices to evaluate significant divergence in self and informant agreement. Results: Dyadic mixed effects models showed an insignificant relationship between participant role and ratings on the FrSBe apathy and executive dysfunction subscales. Participant role was related to ratings on the disinhibition subscale of the FrSBe. The ICC for apathy was ICC = .583, for disinhibition ICC = .420, and for executive dysfunction ICC = .373. Significant divergence in scores did not vary by history of chemoradiation. Conclusions: Results demonstrate an effect of role on one FrSBe subscale and weak to moderate agreement between survivor and informant scores, which suggests that agreement between informants and survivors varies by FrSBe domain. The strongest relationship between survivors and informants was seen on apathy, which suggests that apathy is a shared concern for survivors and their families.

Keywords:

• Pediatric brain tumor
• executive function
• apathy
• inhibition
• self-report

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Supported by a Research Scholar Grant (TZK) from the American Cancer Society (#RSGPB-CPPB-114044). OH is supported by a graduate student fellowship provided by the Georgia State University Brains and Behavior Initiative.