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Pediatric neuropsychological assessment: A comparison of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision and the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children

George David Archibald, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

The literature on the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children and the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision indicated a need for additional validation studies. In particular, a direct comparison of the children's batteries in a control sample and a mixed sample of brain-damaged children has not been reported in the literature. In addition, there have been extensive criticisms of the adult form of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery, calling into question the pediatric revision of the battery. Both neuropsychological batteries were compared in an attempt to provide information on their diagnostic and construct validity. Fifteen control children and 15 brain-damaged children were administered both batteries. Hit rates for the two batteries were determined by decision rules and by linear discriminant function analyses. Because of the small sample size, a multistep analytic method was utilized to increase the power of the experimental design. When utilizing decision rules, both pediatric neuropsychological batteries were able to correctly classify a high percentage of children. Results from linear discriminant function analyses produced similar findings. The generally high classification rates indicated acceptable levels of diagnostic validity in the study sample. However, the Luria-Nebraska demonstrated a relative superiority over the Halstead-Reitan battery. Classification models derived from the analysis indicated that tests of linguistic processing and nondominant hemisphere functioning contributed most to group separation. Interrelationships between the two neuropsychological batteries were also explored. The results indicated that although the neuropsychological test batteries provide convergent information, and thus demonstrate convergent validity, each battery contributed unique information to the task of group separation. The correlations explored between the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-Revised and the two pediatric neuropsychological batteries indicated differential interrelationships for the control and brain-damaged groups, supporting the contention that the two neuropsychological batteries contribute unique information.

Subject Area

Psychotherapy

Recommended Citation

Archibald, George David, "Pediatric neuropsychological assessment: A comparison of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision and the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Older Children" (1987). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8803739.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8803739

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