TY - JOUR
T1 - Family ratings of communication largely reflect expressive language and conversation-level ability in people with aphasia
AU - Fucetola, Robert
AU - Connor, Lisa Tabor
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - Purpose: Family ratings of communication and social interactions represent an important source of information about people with aphasia. Because of the reliance on family/partner ratings as an outcome measure in many aphasia treatment studies and in the clinic, there is a great need for the validation of commonly used family/partner rating measures, and a better understanding of predictors of family ratings of communication. Method: The communication ability of 130 individuals with aphasia due to neurologic illness was rated by family members/partners on the Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI; Lomas et al., 1989). Information on aphasia severity, mood, quality of life, nonverbal cognitive functioning, and various demographic factors was collected. Results: Principal component analysis confirmed a 2-factor model best represents the relationships among CETI rating items, and this model largely consists of a conversation-level ability factor. Family ratings were largely predicted by the patient’s expressive (not receptive) language but also patient self-perceived quality of communication life. Conclusions: Family/partners typically rate the effectiveness of communication based largely on expressive language, despite the fact that other aspects of the aphasia (e.g., listening comprehension) are as important for everyday communication.
AB - Purpose: Family ratings of communication and social interactions represent an important source of information about people with aphasia. Because of the reliance on family/partner ratings as an outcome measure in many aphasia treatment studies and in the clinic, there is a great need for the validation of commonly used family/partner rating measures, and a better understanding of predictors of family ratings of communication. Method: The communication ability of 130 individuals with aphasia due to neurologic illness was rated by family members/partners on the Communicative Effectiveness Index (CETI; Lomas et al., 1989). Information on aphasia severity, mood, quality of life, nonverbal cognitive functioning, and various demographic factors was collected. Results: Principal component analysis confirmed a 2-factor model best represents the relationships among CETI rating items, and this model largely consists of a conversation-level ability factor. Family ratings were largely predicted by the patient’s expressive (not receptive) language but also patient self-perceived quality of communication life. Conclusions: Family/partners typically rate the effectiveness of communication based largely on expressive language, despite the fact that other aspects of the aphasia (e.g., listening comprehension) are as important for everyday communication.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84981717368&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0135
DO - 10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0135
M3 - Article
C2 - 26133925
AN - SCOPUS:84981717368
SN - 1058-0360
VL - 24
SP - 790
EP - 797
JO - American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
JF - American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
IS - 4
ER -