Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI): Factor structure, convergent validity, and reliability of a Spanish adaptation

Abstract

Although there are several ratings to assess Executive Functions (EF) in adults, most of these are lengthy and comprise items which describe extreme or pathologic behaviors (e.g., ADHD symptoms), proving inadequate for the assessment of EF in general population. The Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI) seeks to assess EF taking these limitations into account. The aims of the present study were to analyze the factor structure, the convergent and divergent validity, and the reliability of a Spanish adaptation of the ADEXI in a non-clinical population. The Spanish adaptation of the ADEXI, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS), and an adaptation of the Aggression Scale (AS) were administered to 369 healthy adults between 18 and 60-years-old. To analyze the factor structure of the ADEXI, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used. In addition, the relationship between the inventory and the IRI, the CFS and the AS was analyzed. Finally, Cronbach's α index was calculated. CFA showed that the two-factor model including (1) Working memory and (2) Inhibition best fit the data. Significant correlations were found between the ADEXI scores and the CFS, the IRI and the AS, providing additional evidence of construct validity. The internal consistency of the ADEXI was high (α = 0.87). Taken together, our results indicate that the Spanish adaptation of the ADEXI shows satisfactory psychometric properties and would be a valid and reliable measure to assess EF in non-clinical populations both for clinical and research purposes.

Keywords: ADEXI; Spanish adaptation; convergent validity; executive functions; factor structure.