Cross-cultural validation of a behavioral screener for executive functions: Guidelines for clinical use among Colombian children with and without ADHD

Garcia-Barrera, Kamphaus, and Bandalos (2011) derived a 25-item executive functioning screener from the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC), measuring 4 latent executive constructs: problem solving, attentional control, behavioral control, and emotional control. The current study included a cross-cultural examination of this screener in Colombian children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). BASC teacher ratings were collected for Colombian children ages 6-11 years (848 healthy children [53% boys] and 155 children with ADHD [76% boys]). To examine the psychometric properties of the screener, a multistep procedure was implemented, including (a) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and factorial invariance testing across gender, age group (6-8 years, 9-11 years), and ADHD status to replicate and extend the original derivation; (b) item response theory (IRT) analysis to evaluate the information provided by individual items; and (c) given IRT results, a repeated CFA and invariance testing after the exclusion of 1 item from the problem-solving factor. The 24-item 4-factor model fit was adequate for controls and for ADHD participants. Results support the use of the 24-item executive functioning screener in a cross-cultural context. In turn, in supplemental material, normative data for the Colombian sample are reported along with bilingual guidelines (i.e., Spanish/English) for implementing the screener in clinical practice. Even though the screener is useful when examining executive functions, it was not designed as a diagnostic measure for developmental disorders such as ADHD; as such, it should only inform about status of executive functioning.