Production of Australian normative data for an alternate scoring system for the Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised

Abstract

Accurate assessment of memory functioning is integral in the framework of comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Knowledge of the integrity of memory functioning contributes to decisions regarding diagnoses, competency, rehabilitation and surgery. The Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised is a frequent memory assessment tool in everyday neuropsychological practice. The present study reports the modification and validation of an alternate scoring system for the Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised and generation of Australian normative data. This test is frequently used in clinical practice and therefore an improved scoring method and collation of locally appropriate normative data forms a significant contribution to knowledge and extension of the evidence base for the practice of clinical neuropsychology. An alternate scoring system for the Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was previously developed and preliminarily validated in a clinical population by Dowling and Clark (2000). The current research project modified the Alternate Scoring System to improve reliability. Subsequent to its modification, normative data was required to enhance clinical utility in an Australian population. The scoring system was applied to subject responses from a large-scale normative study conducted between 1996 and 1998. The Macquarie University Neuropsychological Normative Study involved 399 Australian adults aged between 18 and 34 years of age and included administration of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. As hypothesised, the alternate scoring system generated a similar grading of memory to the original scoring system. Major outcomes of the present study include a substantial literature review to support the development of the alternate scoring system, modification of the alternate scoring system in collaboration with original authors, further validation of the alternate scoring system through comparison with the original scoring system, and production of Australian normative data. Implications of the modified alternate scoring system, together with the normative data produced through the present study, have broadened the clinical applications of the WMS-R Visual Reproduction subtest and provided another tool to guide result interpretation in the assessment of visual memory functioning in an Australian population.

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