| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 心理學研究所 === 97 === The Letter Number Sequencing Test (LNS) has been included in the WAIS-III to be one of the main subtests measuring working memory function. However, the practical utility of the subtest in the Taiwan version of the WAIS-III has been limited because of its language barrier, the unfamiliarity of letters, for Taiwanese. The present study was thus to make an attempt to develop a test compatible with the LNS in terms of psychometric properties and free of the language boundary for people who are unfamiliar with letters but may take it in clinical-related settings. The National Taiwan University Odd-Even Number Sequencing Test (TOENS) whose items are composed of odd and even number serial instead of letters was subsequently formed. The specific aims of the study were to examine its psychometric properties and further to explore its relations to demographic variables of normal adult in north Taiwan.
Based on the standardized procedure of the Taiwan version of the WAIS-III, a total of 300 normal participants with age range from 20 to 84 years old was recruited and further divided into 11 age groups. All participants received the TOENS and screening tests measuring general mental function and emotional status. Thirty of these 300 subjects were retested 3 months later, and 42 also received the Digit Span and LNS subtests of the WAIS-III, the Spatial Span subtest of the WMS-III, the modified WCST, and the Semantic Association of Verbal Fluency for examining reliability and validity features of the TOENS respectively.
The results revealed the split-half reliability coefficients of the TOENS ranging from .69 to .95 for the 11 age groups respectively; and the test-retest reliability coefficient is .75. The concurrent validity was demonstrated with significant correlations with the conventional working memory measures, including the Digit and Spatial Span and the LNS subtests. The construct validity was explored and confirmed in terms of the neural underpinnings of working memory, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, in which their functioning could be reflected by the level of performance on the neuropsychological tests, such as the modified WCST, as well as of a remarkable aging-related decrement of working memory test performance level. The results indicated a significant relationship between the TOENS and the modified WCST, and a notable decline of performance on the test in the elderly compared with their younger counterparts. Normative data were primarily stratified by age groups, with the exception of the data for the elderly with a low educational level. Our participants’ performance level on the TOENS test was significantly associated with age and education variables while there was no gender effect.
Based on the present results, it appears that the TOENS bears adequate psychometric properties and clinical utility in measuring auditory working memory. However, the applicability of the normative data in normal elderly individuals, particularly those with a low education level, does evidence confines and awaits further investigation. In addition, in light of effects of age and education on our normal adult individuals’ performance on the TOENS, more study on the normative data with both age and education correction rather than with the age only is merited.
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