Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)

Full Name of Assessment:		Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)
Author, Publisher, Date:		Author: Gerard A. Gioia, PhD, Peter K. Isquith, PhD, Steven C. Guy, PhD, and Lauren Kenworthy, PhD, PAR, Inc., 2000
Source:		http://www4.parinc.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=BRIEF	Pricing: $230
Brief description (purpose, domains, subscales, time to administer, space/equipment needs): Assess executive function behaviors in the school and home environments with the BRIEF, a questionnaire developed for parents and teachers of school-age children. Designed to assess the abilities of a broad range of children and adolescents, the BRIEF is useful when working with children who have learning disabilities and attention disorders, traumatic brain injuries, lead exposure, pervasive developmental disorders, depression, and other developmental, neurological, psychiatric, and medical conditions. Behavioral Regulation- Clinical Scales: Inhibit: Control impulses; stop behavior Shift: Move freely from one activity/situation to another; transition; problem-solve flexibly Emotional Control: Modulate emotional responses appropriately Metacognition- Clincial Scales: Initiate: Begin activity; generate ideas Working Memory: Hold information in mind for purpose of completing a task Plan/Organize: Anticipate future events; set goals; develop steps; grasp main ideas Organization of Materials Monitor: Check work; assess own performance Age range:5 to 18 years Admin:Individual, 86 items Admin time:10-15 minutes to administer; 15-20 minutes to score Scoring time:20 minutes
Scoring: 1. remove the perforated stub and detach the top part of the carbonless answer sheet to reveal the scoring sheet 2. transfer the circled item score for each item to the box provided in that item row 3. sum the item scores in each column and enter the subtotal in the box at the bottom of the column 4. transfer the scale subtotals for items 1-43 to the appropriate box in the row for subtotals at the bottom of the facing page 5. sum the two subtotals for each scale and enter the total in the total scale raw scores box beneath the scale name 6. transfer the total raw score for each scale to the raw score column in the scoring summary table below 7. sum the raw scores for inhibit, shift, and emotional control to obtain the raw score for the behavioral regulation index (BRI) 8. sum the raw scores for initiate, working memory, plan/organize, organization of materials, and monitor to obtain the raw score for the metacognition index (MI) 9. sum the raw scores for the two indexes (BRI and MI) to obtain the raw score for the Global Executive Composite (GEC) 10.           Raw scores for all scales of the BRIEF questionnaire can be computed with the Software Portfolio (BRIEF-SP). This computer program provides separate normative tables for both the Parent and Teacher Forms in which figure T scores, percentiles, and 90% confidence intervals for four developmental age groups (5–18 years) by gender of the child. T scores provide information about the child’s individual scores relative to the scores of other respondents in the standardization sample. Percentiles represent the percentage of children in the standardization sample who fall below a given raw score.
Psychometric properties (describe briefly; e.g. reliability, validity, sensitivity, specificity, etc): Questions selected for inclusion in the BRIEF were determined based on inter-rater reliability correlations and item-total correlations that had the highest probability of being informative for the clinician. The BRIEF has demonstrated good reliability, with high test-retest reliability (rs - .88 for teachers, .82 for parents) internal consistency (alphas - .80 - .98), and moderate correlations between parent and teacher ratings (rs - .32 - .34). Convergent and divergent validity has also been established with other measures of emotional and behavioral functioning, and the BRIEF has also demonstrated utility in differentiating clinical and non-clinical children and adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Citations/References (source at least 2 articles that use the tool or reports on psychometrics): McAuley, T., Chen, S., Goos, L., Schachar, R., & Crosbie, J. (January 01, 2010). Is the behavior rating inventory of executive function more strongly associated with measures of impairment or executive function?. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : Jins, 16, 3, 495-505. McCandless, S., & O', L. L. (January 01, 2007). The Clinical Utility of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in the Diagnosis of ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 10, 4, 381-389.
Comments/critique (include application to practice – settings, needs, populations): ·       Provides multiple perspectives. The Parent and Teacher Forms of the BRIEF each contain 86 items that measure different aspects of executive function. ·       Specific normative data based on age and gender. Separate normative tables for parent and teacher forms provide T scores, percentiles, and 90% confidence intervals for four developmental age groups by gender of the child. ·       Nonoverlapping scales. Theoretically and statistically derived scales measure different aspects of a child or adolescent’s behavior, such as his or her ability to control impulses, move freely from one situation to the next, modulate responses, anticipate future events, and keep track of the effect of his or her behavior on others. ·       Eight clinical scales (Inhibit, Shift, Emotional Control, Initiate, Working Memory, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials, Monitor) and two validity scales (Inconsistency and Negativity) give the clinician a well-rounded picture of the behavior of the child or adolescent being rated. ·       The clinical scales form two broader Indexes (Behavioral Regulation and Metacognition) and an overall score, the Global Executive Composite. ·       The Working Memory and Inhibit scales differentiate among ADHD subtypes.
Training or certification requirements:	The BRIEF is very simple to administer and only requires a copy of the form and a pencil. The parent form is filled out by a parent (preferably by both parents). The only important criterion is they need to have had recent contact with the child over the past six months. Similarly, the teacher form can be filled out by any adult (teacher or aide) who have had extended contact with the child in a school setting during the past month. Multiple ratings across classrooms are strongly recommended, as they are useful for comparison purposes.