The Everyday Memory Questionnaire – revised: Development of a 13-item scale

PURPOSE: The Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) was developed as a subjective measure of memory failure in everyday life. Previous studies have investigated the factor structure of the EMQ in both healthy participants and people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of the present study was to confirm the factor structure of the EMQ, to determine the internal consistency and criterion validity of the scale and to develop a shortened version. METHOD: A retrospective design, including participants from a study on MS patients and their carers and a study on stroke patients. Psychometric properties of the EMQ-28 were explored, and the measure was further revised from comparative analyses between the clinical and non-clinical groups. RESULTS: Reliability and factor analysis of the EMQ-28 identified two main factors, general memory and attentional function, showing some concordance with previous research. Further analysis reduced the questionnaire to a 13-item measure (EMQ-R), with two main factors (Retrieval and Attentional tracking), strong internal reliability, and good discriminatory properties between clinical and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The 28-item questionnaire consistently differentiated between two broad systems of memory and attention, with some differentiation of visual and verbal, or language systems. Results showed some consistency with previous findings. The revised, 13-item questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool that has good face validity for use with neurological patients. Further exploration of the revised EMQ is recommended to provide information regarding its psychometric and clinical properties.