How Does Teleneuropsychology Digit Span Measure Up?

Objective To see how strongly performance on a computerized visual digit span task correlates with non-computerized digit span subtests. Method The data were chosen from a de-identified database. Undiagnosed adult volunteers (n = 105) took the WAIS-IV Digit Span and TMB Digit Span subtests. Demographic characteristics were as follows: Age (M = 28.5, SD = 11.2), education (M = 16.2, SD = 1.9), gender (60% Female), race (69.8% White). A Pearson correlation was run on the TMB and WAIS-IV longest digit span forward (ldsf) and longest digit span backward (ldsb) raw scores of the same individuals. Results Results suggest a moderate correlation between WAIS-IV ldsf (M = 7.14, SD = 1.31) and TMB (M = 6.90, SD = 1.29) ldsf raw scores, r = 0.45, p \u3e 0.01. Moreover, results indicated a moderate correlation between WAIS-IV ldsb (M = 7.69, SD = 1.43) and TMB (M = 5.66, SD = 1.81) ldsb raw scores, r = 0.38, p \u3e 0.01. 73.1% of participants had the same or were within one digit on ldsf scores on both assessments, while 93% were within two digits. 63.8% of participants had the same ldsb scores on both assessments, while 81.9% were within two digits. Conclusion Clinicians must note the risk of assuming computerized tests measure the same cognitive functions as standardized paper-and-pencil tests. These results underscore this point. Future studies should continue to assess how well in-person tests align with other computerized tests purporting to measure the same cognitive abilities by examining other variables (i.e., auditory vs. visual, controlled vs. non-controlled environment)