Embedded performance validity indicator for children: California Verbal Learning Test – Children’s Edition, forced choice

Performance validity testing in children undergoing neuropsychological testing is a growing research area. Accurate identification of performance validity is necessary to avoid invalid assessment conclusions. In the present research, a forced choice (FC) trial was created for the California Verbal Learning Test – Children’s Edition (CVLT-C), modeled after the established California Verbal Learning Test – Second Edition (CVLT-II) FC trial. Distractor words were taken directly from the CVLT-II FC Standard Form, with about half being concrete (n = 8) and half abstract (n = 7). The order of the items was organized similarly to the CVLT-II FC to ensure that items from within the same category were not sequential. The Test of Memory Malingering was administered for comparison, and three embedded measures that have previously been validated in adults were also calculated. The CVLT-C FC trial was administered to 40 children, aged 6–16 (M = 12.08, SD = 3.13). Average full scale IQ was 97.3 (SD = 12.41, range = 71–123). Ninety-three percent of examinees performed perfectly on the CVLT-C FC, suggesting high specificity, which is similar to findings for the CVLT-II FC normative group (90%). Results from other embedded measures are also presented.

接受神经心理测评（neuropsychological testing）的儿童的表现效度测试是一个日益受到关注的研究领域。精准识别表现效度（performance validity），是规避无效评估结论的核心前提。本研究参照已成熟的加州言语学习测验第二版（California Verbal Learning Test – Second Edition, CVLT-II）的迫选（forced choice, FC）范式，为加州言语学习测验-儿童版（California Verbal Learning Test – Children’s Edition, CVLT-C）设计了专属FC试次。干扰项直接取自CVLT-II FC标准版，其中具体词（n=8）与抽象词（n=7）各占约半数。项目排布逻辑与CVLT-II FC保持一致，以确保同类范畴的项目不会连续出现。本研究同时施测记忆诈病测验（Test of Memory Malingering）作为对照，并计算了3项此前已在成人群体中完成效度验证的嵌入指标。本研究共招募40名年龄介于6至16岁的儿童参与CVLT-C FC试次施测，其平均年龄为12.08岁（标准差SD=3.13）；受测者的全量表智商平均分为97.3（标准差SD=12.41，得分范围71~123）。93%的受测者在CVLT-C FC试次中获得了满分，提示该范式具备较高的特异性，这一结果与CVLT-II FC常模群体的相关发现（90%）高度吻合。本研究同时报告了其余嵌入指标的测试结果。