RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF AN AUDITORY WORKING-MEMORY MEASURE - DATAFROM ELDERLY AND RIGHT-HEMISPHERE DAMAGED ADULTS

The use of non-standardized measures in research and clinical assessme nts creates difficulties with interpretation and generalization of res ults obtained. One example of a widely used non-standardized tool is t he reading/listening span paradigm for assessment of working memory (W M). WM is an important construct because of its purported relationship to language comprehension and capacity theories of cognition. This pa per investigates several facets of reliability and validity for an aud itory working memory measure designed for older adults and individuals with right hemisphere brain damage (RHD). Results from 28 non-brain-d amaged subjects (NBD) and 11 RHD subjects indicate that the measure is internally consistent and reliable over time. Construct validity evid ence, which compares favourably with evidence from existing literature , suggests that for NBD subjects this tool differentiates WR I from si mple short term memory. RHD subjects do not demonstrate the same patte rn of validity results as the NBD group. Further evaluation with RHD p atients is warranted, because clinically this tool may be useful as a measure of severity or a prognostic indicator of language comprehensio n abilities for this population.