Component structure of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status in dementia

Abstract

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has been studied relatively extensively in normal samples, and its theoretically derived index scores have been demonstrated to be useful in the assessment of a variety of clinical conditions. However, examinations of the empirical relationships between individual subtests are limited. The intent of the present study was to explore the component structure of the instrument in a sample of 351 individuals with a diagnosed memory disorder, to examine the impact of demographic factors on these empirically derived components, and to explore differences in performance between diagnostic groups. Findings suggested a three-component solution (Memory, Visuomotor Processing, and Verbal Processing). Demographic variables had relatively small, but significant relationships with various component scores. Significant differences were observed between probable Alzheimer's disease and non-Alzheimer's type dementia groups on the memory component score, but not on other component scores or on RBANS index scores.