Psychometric properties of Persian version of the Barkley deficits in executive functioning scale–children and adolescents

Abstract

The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale–Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA) is an empirically based tool for evaluating clinically significant dimensions of child and adolescent executive functioning. The present study examined the psychometric properties of Persian version of the BDEFS-CA Long Form parent-report in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years old (n = 2,295, 51% girls). The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) consistently underscored a five-factor structure (self-management to time, self-organization/problem solving, self-restraint, self-motivation and self-regulation of emotion), resembling the original factor structure, in Persian language. Additionally, Results showed that Persian version of the BDEFS-CA Long Form demonstrated high internal consistency and test–retest reliabilities. Convergent validity with Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI) and divergent validity between normal and clinical groups were good. Overall, findings provide support for the validity and reliability Persian version of the BDEFS-CA Long Form, which can be used to assess executive dysfunction in daily life activities.

Keywords:

• Adolescent
• BDEFS-CA Long Form
• children
• executive functions
• reliability
• validity

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Adel Ghaidari, Mohammad Hamzeloo, Kourosh Parviz, Fatemeh Rahmani, Mahtab Mortazavi, Ali Vali, Roghaieh Nourani, Mehdi Ghiasi Gishi, Masoumeh Momenipour, and Javad Mahmoudi for their assistance with data collection. The authors are very grateful to the participants of the present study.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval for the data was granted by the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Ethics Committee. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Disclosure statement

Ali Mashahdi, Zahra Hosseinzadeh Maleki, Jafar Hassani, and Seyyed Kazem Rasoulzadeh-Tabtabae declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) supported this study to the first author [Grant INFS/96007286].