Latent factor structure of the Test of Memory and Learning in a pediatric traumatic brain injured sample: Support for a general memory construct

Abstract

The Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL; Reynolds, C. R., & Bigler, E. D. (1994a). Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed; Reynolds, C. R., & Bigler, E. D. (1994b). Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL): Examiner's manual. Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed) was published to ameliorate the paucity of developmentally appropriate instruments for the assessment of memory in children and adolescents. No studies have confirmed the latent factor structure of the TOMAL. Two structural models were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis using the TOMAL performances of 140 subjects, age 5-19, with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Model 1 was a four-factor model with a large "Complex Memory" factor and three smaller factors. Model 2 was a two-factor model with Verbal and Nonverbal Memory factors, both of which loaded on a second-order "General" memory factor. Results indicated that the model with a higher order structure demonstrated better fit than the four-factor model. Further analysis suggested that the TOMAL factor structure is characterized by a large Complex Memory and smaller, Sustained Attention factor. The study provides tentative support for a "general memory" construct.