Barbara A. Wilson, Eve Greenfield, Linda Clare, Alan Baddeley, Janet Cockburn, Peter Watson, Robyn Tate, Sara Sopena, Rory Nannery & John Crawford (2008)

BACKGROUND

History

• The original RBMT was published in 1985, with an update in 2003 (RBMT-II) • Designed to predict everyday memory problems and to monitor change over time • Original data was collected on adults aged 16-65 and older adult and child samples were also collected post-publication • Later versions included a development of RBMT C (1991) and RBMT-E (1998) • Numerous studies since publication of the RBMT have shown that the tool is a valid instrument for detecting everyday memory problems in patient groups

Why do we need a new version?

• Some changes were needed to improve the clinical effectiveness of the test • In 2003 RBMT-II was published but this only included an update of materials, e.g. included more multiracial stimuli to reflect ethnic diversity of UK • RBMT-3 includes new items on tests, new materials, a new subtest (Novel task) and increased normative sample • The difficulty level of the RBMT-3 is between that of the RBMT-II and RBMT-E

Features of the new tool

• The RBMT-3 contains 14 scored subtests • 12 of these are the same or slightly altered from the RBMT-E. • New ‘Novel task’ is included to assess new learning • 30 minutes administration • 2 versions allowing retesting • Can be used by a range of professionals • Intervention chapter • Scoring examples reported in the manual to aid interpretation

Core capabilities of RBMT-3

• Predict everyday memory problems • For use in neuropsychological and older adult settings • Helpful with assessment of patients with more severe cognitive difficulties, e.g. acute settings, older adults • Meaningful to clients – reflects everyday memory skills • Links to rehabilitation intervention

THE TEST

The Subtests

• First & Second Names – Delayed Recall • Belongings – Delayed Recall • Appointments – Delayed Recall • Picture Recognition – Delayed Recognition • Story – Immediate Recall • Story – Delayed Recall • Face Recognition – Delayed Recognition • Route – Immediate Recall • Route – Delayed Recall • Messages – Immediate Recall • Messages – Delayed Recall • Orientation & date • Novel Task – Immediate Recall

NEW!

• Novel Task – Delayed Recall

NEW!

New Subtest – Novel Task

• Assesses ability to learn a new task • Deficits in this skill impact on everyday life, and also influence the individual’s capacity to benefit from compensatory aids used in rehabilitation.

Why a Novel Task test?

•It is important to establish the level of ability in learning new tasks before attempting to teach them for rehabilitation

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NOVEL TASK

• Based on a mathematical dissection • 6 piece puzzle • Assembled in a set order • 3 learning trials and a delayed trial • Scoring criteria: – Order – Position

STANDARDISATION

Standardisation

• 333 Normative Controls – 172 females 161 males – 16-89 years of age (mean age = 44.3 years) – Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests revealed that the sample distribution of age, education, gender and ethnicity did not differ significantly from the expected UK 2001 census figures

Standardisation

• Exclusionary criteria for Normative Controls – A history of hospitalisation or treatment for severe psychiatric disturbance, drug or alcohol abuse – Spoken English inadequate for understanding test materials or instructions – Severe visual impairment – Brain damage or loss of consciousness for five minutes or more

Clinical sample

• 75 participants

Category

Traumatic Brain Injury Stroke Encephalitis Progressive Conditions Total

N

19 24 20 12 75

SCORING STUDIES

Subtest Scoring Studies

• Raw scores on the 14 RBMT-3 subtests are converted to subtest scaled scores with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3 • Percentile ranks for scaled scores are provided • Subtests take into account an individual’s age and data is reported for the following age bands: – 16-24 years of age – 25-34 years of age – 35-44 years of age – 45-54 years of age – 55-64 years of age – 65-74 years of age – 75-89 years of age

General Memory Index

• A General Memory Index (GMI), representing overall memory performance can also be calculated • GMI is standardised to have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 • GMI scores are calculated by summing the scaled scores on the RBMT-3 subtests and then converting this sum to a GMI using the appropriate conversion table • Conversion tables also report the confidence intervals and percentile ranks for each GMI

Reliability

• Alternate form reliability coefficients for each subtest for Version 1 and Version 2 of the test with the normative and clinical sample combined ranged from 0.57 to 0.86. • The reliability coefficient of the GMI was 0.87 for both Versions 1 and 2 • With the exception of the Messages - Delayed Recall subtest the inter-scorer reliability for the RBMT-3 subtests were 0.9 or higher, indicating a high level of agreement between scorers – The lower level of agreement on the Messages – Delayed Recall subtest was attributable to only two of the 18 pairs who completed the inter-scorer study and is thought to be due to two examinees whose results were particularly difficult to score on this subtest.

Validity

• Factor analytic results confirmed the construct validity of forming a GMI • Ecological validity (as supported by performance against the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire; Smith et al., 2000) was moderate (r =-.43 Version 1; r=-.44 Version 2) • Performance of the clinical sample compared to the normative sample provided strong evidence of the sensitivity of the RBMT-3 to memory problems