/ Psychological Tests / Cognitive Functions (Neuropsychology)

Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Adults (BRIEF-A)

Portuguese version

Albuquerque, C. P., Moura, O., Vilar, M., Seabra-Santos, M. J., Pereira, M., Major, S., Moreira, A., Lopes, A. F., Gaudêncio, A. & Simões, M. R. (2023). BRIEF-A: Factor structure and measurement invariance across self-report and informant forms. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult. https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2023.2283080

Original version

Roth, R. M., Isquith, P. K., & Gioia, G. A. (2005). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version. Psychological Assessment Resources.

Theoretical background

The BRIEF-A, with self-report and informant forms, evaluates executive functions (EF) in the day-to-day functioning of adults and older adults, conferring greater ecological validity to the evaluation. More specifically, the BRIEF-A assesses a person's ability to maintain appropriate control of her behaviour and emotional responses, as well as to solve problems in different contexts and cognitively manage attention and problem-solving.

The usefulness of BRIEF-A has been demonstrated in a wide range of disorders, such as: 1. oncological situations, such as young adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors, adult primary brain tumors patients, and adult survivors of pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia; (2) in psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, mood disorder, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder; (3) in neurological conditions, particularly in traumatic brain injury, be it mild or moderate/severe, Alzheimer’s disease, focal frontal lobe damage, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, and significant cognitive complaints; (4) in addictions, namely pathological gambling and chronic substance use disorder; (5) in eating disorders, comprising anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder; and finally (6) in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum condition and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Aita et al. 2023); (7) in learning disabilities and other clinical groups (chronic pain, fibromyalgia, distracted driving, hypersexual behavior) (Sherman et. al., 2023).

Description

Assessment Domain: Executive functions.

Type of Instrument: Self-report Form and Informant Form. Items in any of the forms are rated according to a 3-point Likert scale (i.e., 1 = "Never"; 2 = "Sometimes"; 3 = "Often"), which indicates the frequency of behaviors in the last month.

Number of items: 75 items (self-report form), 75 items (informant form).

Application: Individual, 10 minutes.

Population: 18-90 years old (self-report form and informant form).

Dimensions

There are 2 different forms of the BRIEF-A: Self-Report Form (person examined) and Informant Report Form.

The self-report and informant forms are organized up of nine scales (and their respective number of items) and two indices: 1. Inhibition (8 items); 2. Flexibility (6); 3. Emotional Control (10); 4. Self-monitoring (6) [which make up the Behavioural Regulation Index] and 5. Initiation (8); 6. Working Memory (8); 7. Planning/Organisation (10); 8. Task Monitoring (6) and 9. Organization of Materials (8) [which constitute up the Metacognition Index]. The results of these scales and indices give rise to a score that represents a "Global Executive Composite". The BRIEF-A also includes three validity scales: Negativity (10); Inconsistency (10); Infrequency (5, in this case, these are new items).

Studies

National studies are in progress with the aim of:

  1. develop representative norms, according to age and gender, for the 2 versions of the BRIEF-A, considering young adults, adults and older adults);
  2. analyse psychometric data on the BRIEF-A: reliability (internal consistency, test-retest stability, inter-rater agreement), validity (factor structure and measurement invariance, convergent and divergent validity);
  3. to examine the validity of the BRIEF-A in forensic samples (e.g., medico-legal, Regulation of the Exercise of Parental Responsibilities and the Promotion and Protection of Children and Young People, Substance use disorder) and clinical samples (e.g., fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, lateral amyotrophic sclerosis, intellectual disabilities, mild cognitive impairment, dementias).

Funding

The studies are funded by Hogrefe and by the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences – University of Coimbra.

Contacts

Cristina Petrucci Albuquerque (calbuquerque@pce.uc.pt)

Manuela Vilar (mvilar@fpce.uc.pt)

Research Team

Cristina P. Albuquerque (IP); Octávio Moura; Marcelino Pereira; Sofia Major; Ana Filipa Lopes; Manuela Vilar; Maria João Seabra- Santos; Alexandra Gaudêncio & Mário R. Simões. Colaborador: Emanuel Silva.

References

  1. Aita, S. L., Moncrief, G. G., Greene, J., Trujillo, S., Carrillo, A., Iwanicki, S., Morera, C. C., Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., & Roth, R. M. (2023). Univariate and multivariate base rates of score elevations, reliable change, and inter-rater discrepancies in the BRIEF-A standardization samples. Assessment, 30(2), 390–401. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/10731911211055673
  2. Albuquerque, C. P., Moura, O., Vilar, M., Seabra-Santos, M. J., Pereira, M., Major, S., Moreira, A., Lopes, A. F., Gaudêncio, A. & Simões, M. R. (2023). BRIEF-A: Factor structure and measurement invariance across self-report and informant forms. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult. https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2023.2283080
  3. Roth, R. M., Isquith, P. K., & Gioia, G. A. (2005). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version. Psychological Assessment Resources.
  4. Sherman, E., Tan, J. E., & Hrabok, M. (2023). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Fundamentals of neuropsychological assessment and test reviews for clinical practice (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Master’s dissertations

  1. Afonso, R. D. M. (2022). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Um estudo de validação em contexto médico-legal [Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): A validation study in a medical-legal context]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/104216
  2. Freitas, C. C. (2023). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Estudo de validação numa amostra forense de Regulação do Exercício das Responsabilidades Parentais e de Promoção e Proteção de Crianças e Jovens [Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Validation study on a forensic sample of Regulation of the Exercise on Parental Responsibilities and Promotion and Protection of Children and Young People]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral.
    https://hdl.handle.net/10316/106605
  3. Heleno, A. S. P. M. M. (2020). Contribution to the validation of the BRIEF-A for the Portuguese population: Validity studies with older adults [Contributos para a validação do BRIEF-A para a população portuguesa: Estudos de validade com adultos mais velhos]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/94590
  4. Lima, L. A. S. (2019). O Instrumento Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Estudo exploratório das propriedades psicométricas [Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A): An exploratory study of the psychometric properties]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/94929
  5. Moura, L. C (2023). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Estudo de estabilidade temporal teste-reteste, validade convergente e divergente e efeito das variáveis sociodemográficas numa amostra de jovens adultos, adultos e adultos idosos da comunidade [Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Study of test-retest stability, convergent and divergent validity and the effect of sociodemographic variables in a sample of young adults, adults and elderly adults from the community]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/110094
  6. Paiva, M. F. M. A. (2023). Beyond Pain and Affective Symptoms: subjective and objective cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia [Para além da dor e dos sintomas afectivos: disfunção cognitiva subjectiva e objetiva na fibromialgia]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/110097
  7. Ribeiro, A. P. C. (2019). Contributos para a validação do BRIEF-A (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version) para a população portuguesa: Um estudo exploratório com adultos e adultos idosos [Contributions to BRIEF-A (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version) validation for the Portuguese population: An exploratory study with adults and elderly adults]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/94936
  8. Santos, M. N. (2021). Contribution to the validation of the BRIEF-A for the Portuguese population: An exploratory study for the interrater reliability [Contributos para a validação do BRIEF-A para a população portuguesa: Um estudo exploratório do acordo entre informadores]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/99306
  9. Silveira, B. A. A. (2023). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Estudo de Validação numa Amostra de Pessoas com Doença de Parkinson após Estimulação Cerebral Profunda [Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A): Validation Study in a Sample of People with Parkinson's Disease after Deep Brain Stimulation]. Dissertação de mestrado, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra. Estudo Geral. https://hdl.handle.net/10316/110105