Date of Award
Spring 2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Clinical Psychology
First Advisor
Hoelzle, James B.
Second Advisor
Nielson, Kristy
Third Advisor
Saunders, Stephen
Abstract
The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS: Randolph, 1998, 2012) is a brief neurocognitive instrument used to evaluate cognitive functioning in clinical settings. While this test is used regularly, investigation of the factor structure has resulted in inconsistent findings across samples. It was hypothesized that inconsistent RBANS dimensional structures are the result of methodological differences and not solely due to unique sample characteristics. The present study utilized empirically supported extraction criteria (Parallel Analysis; Minimum Average Partial Procedure) and uniformly investigated five samples. RBANS data from four samples were previously published (Carlozzi, Horner, Yang, & Tilley, 2008; Duff, Hobson, Beglinger, O'Bryant, 2010; Duff et al., 2006; Wilde, 2006) and a new clinical sample was obtained from the Gundersen Health System, Memory Center. The congruence of factor structures was investigated by conducting orthogonal vector matrix comparisons (Barrett, 2005), and a robust two factor structure reliably emerged across samples. The invariant RBANS two factor structure primarily emphasized memory and visuospatial functioning. This finding definitively clarifies the RBANS factor structure and the relationships between subtests and indices. Due to the expansive use of the RBANS, this psychometric knowledge has significant clinical implications.