Validation of a Persian version of an English language ecologically-valid assessment of executive functions through childhood and adolescence

ABSTRACT

Childhood and adolescence are pivotal periods for cognitive development. Executive functions are crucial for efficient cognitive functioning, so accurate assessment is important. One ecologically-valid virtual reality test is the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions for Children (JEF-C^©). In a cross-sectional study, we aimed at translating, adapting and validating JEF-C into Persian, and at investigating whether this Persian version (JEF-C (P)) can identify stages of development of executive functions in children aged from 8 to 16. Children and adolescents (N = 146) falling into three age groups participated: 8–10, 11–13 and 14–16 years old. They completed JEF-C (P) and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). There were acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficients for JEF-C(P) total score (α = .72) and all constructs, except action-based prospective memory, had a positive impact on total internal consistency. There was an effect of age group on overall JEF-C (P) performance and of age on four constructs. There was also a correlation between the number of categories on WCST and the prioritization construct of JEF-C (P). It seems that JEF-C (P) is an ecologically valid executive function assessment sensitive to age and could be useful for both researchers and clinicians working with children.

KEYWORDS:

• Executive functions
• assessment
• children and adolescents
• ecological validity
• cultural adaptation

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Hamidreza Pouretamd for his help as the supervisor of the first author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.