Psychometric properties and clinical utility of the executive function inventory for children and adolescents: a large multistage populational study including children with ADHD

Executive functions (EF) are a set of high order mental abilities that regulate cognition, emotions, and behavior. This study aims to report the construction and validation of a rating scale instrument for EF in children and adolescents aged from 5 to 18 years (EFICA), as well as to report the results of a comparison between children with ADHD and their peers without it. Thus, we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study relying on a sample composed of 3,284 typical children and adolescents accessed to study the psychometric properties of the parents’ inventory (EFICA-P) and the teacher’s inventory (EFICA-T) within a Structural Equation Modeling framework (SEM). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were fitted, as well as the Cronbach’s alpha and the McDonald’s omega reliability indices. The known-groups method was carried out by independent Welch t-tests between untreated ADHD children and their peers. We concluded that the parents’ inventory is composed of three dimensions (Cool Index 1, Cool Index 2, and Hot Index): χ2 (1,649) = 4,607.852 p < .01, CFI = .965, TLI .963, RMSEA = .053, whereas the teachers´ inventory is composed of two dimensions (Cool Index and Hot Index): χ2 (1,273) = 5,158.240, p < .01, CFI = .991, TLI = .991, RMSEA = .077. The internal consistency of both inventories was >.9. Significant differences between the ADHD groups were found in all domains accessed. These findings indicate that both inventories have a high degree of validity regarding their internal structures, as well as supporting their clinical utility.