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. 2022 Mar 2:16:767367.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.767367. eCollection 2022.

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Dysexecutive Questionnaire in a Non-clinical Population

Hannah Wakely  1 , Ratko Radakovic  1   2   3   4 , Andrew Bateman  5 , Sara Simblett  6 , Jessica Fish  7   8 , Fergus Gracey  1
Affiliations

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Dysexecutive Questionnaire in a Non-clinical Population

Hannah Wakely et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the revised self-rated version of the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX-R) within a non-clinical sample.

Methods: The study was hosted online, with 140 participants completing the DEX-R, GAD-2 and PHQ-2. Sixty participants also completed the FrSBe, with 99 additionally completing the DEX-R again 3 weeks later. Correlations with demographic factors and symptoms of anxiety and depression were conducted. Rasch and factor analysis were also used to explore underlying subconstructs.

Results: The DEX-R correlated highly with the FrSBe, indicating sound concurrent validity. Internal consistency, split-half reliability and test-retest reliability were excellent. Age and symptoms of depression and anxiety correlated with DEX-R scores, with older age associated with less dysexecutive problems. The Rasch analysis confirmed the multidimensionality of the rating scale, and a three-factor structure was found relating to activation-self-regulatory, cognitive and social-emotional processes. Frequencies of responses on DEX-R items varied, many were not fully endorsed indicating specific relevance of most but not all items to patients.

Conclusion: Interpretations of DEX-R ratings of dysexecutive problems should consider mood and individual variation. Systematic comparison of DEX-R responses between healthy and clinical groups could help identify a suitable cut off for dysexecutive symptoms.

Keywords: dysexecutive problems; dysexecutive questionnaire-revised; rating scales; reliability; validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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