Construction and Investigation of Psychometric Characteristics of Updating Component Tasks of Executive Functions

This study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the updating component tasks of executive functions in normal individuals and to compare their performance with patients with clinical disorders, including schizophrenia (SC), traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). In this causal-comparative study, all normal individuals aged 16-70 years and patients with SC, TBI, AD, and MDD in Kerman city, were included. The study population included 406 normal individuals who were selected through convenience sampling and 74 patients (24 SC, 11 TBI, 15 AD, and 24 MDD) who were selected by purposive sampling. Participants completed updating tasks, including letter memory, keep track, spatial 2-back, and spatial 3-back. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, test-retest reliability, and multivariate analysis of variance. The results showed that the validity and reliability of the updating tasks are acceptable, and there is a significant difference between the scores of normal individuals and those of patients with SC, TBI, AD, and MDD. According to the results, it can be concluded that this set of tasks can well assess the updating-specific ability and distinguish between the performance of normal individuals and patients with clinical disorders.