Validation and reliability of the frontal assesment battery (FAB) in Turkish

Scientific background: The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) test is a short test aiming to assess frontal lobe functions. It is composed of 6 items that give a total possible score between 0-18. The items include assessing the ability to find similarites among the given objects, categorical verbal fluency,resistance to interference,a simple go-no go paradigm, peripheral autonomy. A higher score demoted better performance.Purpose: To study validation and reliability to demonstrate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB)Method:The Turkish FAB were evaluated in 94 cases with diverse neuro-psychological conditions and on 92 healty controls. Translation and back translations of Turkish were done. In addition to FAB, the respondents were applied with mini-mental assessment scale, Stroop scale and a brief sociodemographic questionnaire. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency analysis (alpha) were conducted for reliability analysis whereas factor analysis, convergent validity approach, known groups and criterion validity tests and sensitivity analysis were applied during validity analysis. Parametric and non-parametric correlations, T tests and ANAOVA analysis were used during these analyses by using SPSS version 13.0.Findings: Mean age was 61.8; %42.5 of the participants were male of the participants were male; %41.9 of them were graduated from primary school and %41.4 high school and %16.7 university.The alpha value was sufficient (?=0, 73) for FAB but the alpha value decreased when 6th item was deleted that indicated a problem for this item as confirmed with the factor solution as well. The less the years of education, the worst the FAB scale scores (p<0.001) obtained, and men gave higher scores that women in a few items (mental flexibility, sensitivity to interference, and inhibitory control) of FAB. The relationship between FAB and Minimental test (0.765,p<0.000) and Stroop scores indicated a satisfactory concurrent validity (the range of r = -0.252 --- -0.650, p<0.01).Conclusion: The FAB can be considered as a reliable and valid testin healthy controls and in a group of patients with Alzheimer,Parkinson and Schizophrenia in Turkish population.The FAB item 6 (peripheral autonomy) seems not well working either in controls or patient groups. Age and education are important factors affecting the FAB results in both control and neuropsychiatric groups. Gender differences were seen in only neuropsychiatric disorders.Key words: Frontal cognition, FAB, cross-cultural validation, Turkish