The Stroop Color-Word Test – Short Form (SCWT-SF): Updated norms and validity in an Italian population sample

OBJECTIVES: More than two decades ago, normative data for two interference indices (Error Interference Effect, EIE; Time Interference Effect, TIE) from a short form of the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT-SF) were established in Italy. The present study aimed to update the normative data for the Italian SCWT-SF by extending the assessment beyond interference indices to include completion times and error counts across the three task conditions, namely Word Reading (W), Color Naming (C), and Color-Word Interference (CW), and to provide evidence supporting its construct validity. METHODS: condition) and a test battery assessing processing speed (Psychomotor Speed Test; Trail-Making Test - Part A) and executive functioning (EF) (Saccade and Antisaccade Test; Digit Ordering Test; Trail-Making Test - Part B). Norms were derived for each SCWT-SF measure using the Equivalent Score method. Correlational analyses explored construct validity. RESULTS: Older age and lower education negatively affected SCWT-SF scores. Female sex was associated with lower completion times on C condition. No predictors emerged for errors in W condition. Word-reading and color-naming outcomes were associated with measures of processing speed, while the CW condition and interference indices with tests of inhibitory control, working memory, and set-shifting. CONCLUSIONS: We provided updated, regression-based normative data for the Italian SCWT-SF, encompassing individual scores across its three conditions and the original interference indices, and evidence supporting its convergent validity with measures of processing speed and EF.