The measurement of participant-reported memory across diverse populations and settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire

Abstract

The Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ) is a participant-reported measure of memory satisfaction, ability, and strategy use. Initially validated with healthy older adults, it has since been used in many different populations and settings for a variety of purposes. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the measurement properties of the MMQ across multiple, diverse studies.

Methods: The study was designed using the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. We calculated aggregate statistics and evaluated the methodological quality of 29 studies retrieved from PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science.

Results: Analyses revealed high-quality evidence for internal consistency, stability, measurement error, convergent validity, and known-groups validity of the three MMQ scales. There was moderate-quality evidence for responsiveness and structural validity, with some studies identifying separate factors for internal and external memory strategy use. Measurement properties were similar across languages, participant samples, and study designs.

Conclusions: The MMQ is a valid, reliable, and responsive measure across diverse settings and populations. Future research is needed to determine whether more detailed information can be obtained from the scales, specifically, internal versus external strategy use.

Keywords: Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire; PROSPERO record CRD42018102080; meta-analysis; metamemory; reliability; responsiveness; validity.