Communication-related aspects of prospective memory: an exploratory factor analysis of prospective memory questionnaires.

PURPOSE: Prospective memory (PM) questionnaires are frequently used to evaluate perceptions of PM skills in daily life. This study aimed to systematically investigate communication-specific attributes using pre-existing PM self-rating questionnaires to inform clinicians and researchers about the role of PM in cognitive communicative evaluations. METHODS: PM-related items from three questionnaires (i.e., Prospective Memory Questionnaire, Comprehensive Assessment of Prospective Memory, and Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire) were compiled and embedded in Google Forms and distributed to 70 Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) with expertise in Cognitive Communicative Disorders across India. Participants first identified items related to communication, and were then contacted to rate the communication-related PM items using a Likert scale for their degree of appropriateness. Responses from 40 SLPs were obtained and subjected to item-content validity index (i-CVI) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). RESULTS: Of the 114 PM items, 28 received ratings over 50% for their relevance to communication. Of the 28 items, 21 had an i-CVI score greater than 0.8. After the removal of overlapping content, 14 items were finalized and subjected to EFA, which resulted in four factors: PM failure due to loss of communicative content, PM failure due to loss of communicative intent, PM cost due to ongoing interference, and PM failure linked to the priority of communicative intent. CONCLUSION: This study highlights communication-related aspects of PM that can be used as a framework for SLPs to assess and research PM skills.

Development and validation of a novel Context-Based Prospective Memory Task among neurotypical adults.

PURPOSE: To address the paucity and potential of context-based prospective memory (PM) assessment tasks suitable to Indian ethnicity, the study aimed to develop a novel context-based PM task and determine its psychometric properties among neurotypical adults. METHODS: Rendered images in 2-D were extracted from a 3-D shopping mall, where PM and ongoing tasks were embedded within them to provide participants with a semi-immersive experience. The design and scoring of the novel task were constructed in alignment with the Memory for Intentions Screening Test. Fifty neurotypical adults in and around Mangaluru were recruited. The Memory of Intentions Test (MIST) and novel context-based PM task were administered. RESULTS: The validity of the novel task was established with a Content Validity Index of 0.98. The intraclass correlation for the test-retest reliability of the novel context-based PM task was 0.92 (p<0.001) and the inter-rater reliability was 0.98 (p<0.001). The internal consistency of the six subscales was high (Cronbach's α= 0.86), and the Spearman-Brown coefficient indicated a strong split-half reliability of 0.87. Spearman's correlation showed that the trials exhibited strong connections to the dichotomic characteristics of the subscales to which they belonged. Further, McNemar's test suggested similar profiles of the participants for the MIST and novel task. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that the novel context-based PM task offers good validity and reliability measures, providing valuable insight into the mechanisms of PM, and therefore, could be ideal for inclusion in a battery of cognitive assessments.