Assessment Tools for Executive Function and Adaptive Function Following Brain Pathology Among Children in Developing Country Contexts: a Scoping Review of Current Tools

Abstract

Several tools have been developed to assess executive function (EFs) and adaptive functioning, although in mainly Western populations. Information on tools for low-and-middle-income country children is scanty. A scoping review of such instruments was therefore undertaken.We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis- Scoping Review extension (PRISMA-ScR) checklist (Tricco et al., in Annals of Internal Medicine 169(7), 467–473, 2018). A search was made for primary research papers of all study designs that focused on development or adaptation of EF or adaptive function tools in low-and-middle-income countries, published between 1st January 1894 to 15th September 2020. 14 bibliographic databases were searched, including several non-English databases and the data were independently charted by at least 2 reviewers.The search strategy identified 5675 eligible abstracts, which was pruned down to 570 full text articles. These full-text articles were then manually screened for eligibility with 51 being eligible. 41 unique tools coming in 49 versions were reviewed. Of these, the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF- multiple versions), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Go/No-go and the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) had the most validations undertaken for EF tests. For adaptive functions, the tools with the most validation studies were the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS- multiple versions) and the Child Function Impairment Rating Scale (CFIRS- first edition).There is a fair assortment of tests available that have either been developed or adapted for use among children in developing countries but with limited range of validation studies. However, their psychometric adequacy for this population was beyond the scope of this paper.

Assessing therapeutic response to methylphenidate among children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Narrative Review of its effects on emotional regulation, executive functions, and quality of life

“…Most studies select their subject based on a formal diagnosis of ADHD which makes them rather heterogenous for ADHD symptoms but don't consider their neuropsychological heterogeneity such that only some might meet a particular criterion of neuropsychological impairment (e.g., Coghill et al, 2007;Nigg et al, 2005;Sonuga-Barke et al, 2010)). Likewise, cognitive c h i l d r e n a n d a d o l e s c e n t s w i t h A D H D performance is often measured in different ways by a wide range of tools and tasks which may vary in their sensitivity (Kusi-Mensah et al, 2022;Nyongesa et al, 2019;Payne et al, 2019).This has the potential to substantially impact effect sizes.…”

“…Generally, these are assessed through a variety of tests and tasks as well as questionnaires that may include self/other report sections regarding EF deficits (Kusi-Mensah et al, 2022;Nyongesa et al, 2019).…”

“…i.e., monitoring incoming information relevant to the present task and discarding old information with newer and relevant content. Two of the most used paradigms to assess working memory are the n-back and the digit span (Kusi-Mensah et al, 2022;Nyongesa et al, 2019). Within n-back tasks, the individual is presented with a sequence of stimuli, and the participant must indicate when the current stimulus matches the one from "n" steps earlier in the sequence.…”

“…Inhibition is a function that helps us decrease the potency of context inappropriate thoughts, emotions, or actions in favor of less potent but more appropriate thoughts, emotions or actions thus letting them outcompete the former in their internal and external expressions (Friedman & Miyake, 2004). Two of commonly used paradigms to assess inhibition are go/no-go and stop signal (Kusi-Mensah et al, 2022;Nyongesa et al, 2019). The go/no-go paradigm tasks measure the participant's ability to react when a certain condition is met (go) and withhold reacting under other conditions (no-go) a variation of these are continuous performance tests (CPT) where participants are presented with a repetitive and boring task that requires their focus over time to respond to specific targets and inhibit response to non-targets.…”

Split-half reliability estimates of an online card sorting task in a community sample of young and elderly adults

“…In a following survey study, the computerized version of WCST ranked as one of the two most commonly used automated test tools (Rabin et al, 2014 ). A recent systematic review suggests that WCST was one of the top five assessment tools of executive function with the most validations for children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (Kusi-Mensah et al, 2022 ). The classical form of WCST originating from the Milner version (Milner, 1963 ) is undoubtedly a famous neurocognitive task frequently used by clinicians (Miles et al, 2021 ).…”