Pieces of evidences of reliability of the Brazilian version of the Child Executive Functions Battery (CEF-B)

Abstract

Executive dysfunctions are central symptoms in different neurological, developmental, and context-related conditions. The assessment of these functions is then essential in neuropsychological pediatric clinical practice. Given the need for reliable and valid evaluation batteries for clinical practice in Brazil, this study aimed to present the pieces of evidences of reliability of the Child Executive Functions Battery (CEF-B). A total of 230 Brazilian children with typical development aged between 7 and 12 years participated in the study. Internal consistency was determined by the split-half method, Cronbach’s α, and Ω. In addition, measurements of test-retest reliability and intraclass coefficient were also performed. Retest indicators were mostly weak and moderate (between.43 and.75). Overvall, coefficients show a satisfactory internal consistency reliability for planning and inhibition measures (between.72 and.92). Considering the measures of WM, results were also satisfactory for both α and Ω indexes. This study revealed that the CEF-B has satisfactory internal consistency reliability coefficients. However, several tests have shown low reliability assessed through the test-retest method. In general, findings reveal interesting pieces of initial evidence of reliability of the Brazilian version. The methodological approach could be improved in future studies by including children with executive disorders.