Psychometric properties of inhibitory control measures among youth with Down syndrome

Abstract Background Inhibitory control measures have been commonly used when assessing individuals with Down syndrome. However, minimal attention has been devoted to evaluating the appropriateness of specific assessments for use in this population, potentially leading to erroneous conclusions. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of measures of inhibitory control among youth with Down syndrome. We sought to examine the feasibility, presence of floor or practice effects, test–retest reliability, convergent validity and correlations with broader developmental domains of a set of inhibitory control tasks. Methods A sample of 97 youth with Down syndrome aged 6 to 17 years old participated in verbal and visuospatial tasks of inhibitory control including the Cat/dog Stroop, Neuropsychological Assessment Second Edition (NEPSY‐II) Statue, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery (TCB) Flanker, Leiter‐3 Attention Sustained, and the Test of Attentional Performance for Children (KiTAP) Go/No‐go and Distractibility subtests. Youth also completed standardised assessments of cognition and language, and caregivers completed rating scales. Psychometric properties on the tasks of inhibitory control were evaluated against a priori criteria. Results Apart from demonstrating negligible practice effects, adequate psychometric properties were not observed for any inhibitory control measure within the current sample's age range. One task with low working memory demands (NEPSY‐II Statue) generally had better psychometric properties than the other tasks assessed. Subgroups of participants with an IQ greater than 30 and age more than 8 years were shown to be more likely to be able to complete the inhibition tasks. Conclusions Findings suggest better feasibility for analogue tasks rather than computerised assessments of inhibitory control. Given the weak psychometrics of several common measures, future studies are required to evaluate other inhibitory control measures, specifically those with reduced working memory demands for youth with Down syndrome. Recommendations for use of the inhibitory control tasks among youth with Down syndrome are provided.