French Adaptation of the Childhood ExecutivFe Function Inventory (CHEXI): Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a Sample of Young French-Speaking Belgian Children

Thorell and Nyberg (2008) recently developed the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI), a new rating instrument for executive functioning in day-to-day life that can be divided into four subscales: working memory, planning, inhibition, and regulation. By using an exploratory factor analysis on data from young Swedish children attending kindergarten, Thorell and Nyberg (2008) found a two-factor solution tapping working memory and inhibition. In the present study, we explored the psychometric characteristics of the French adaptation of the CHEXI. Ninety-five parents of 5- and 6-year-old children completed the CHEXI. Eighty-seven children from this sample were given clinical inhibition and working memory tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor solution based on inhibition and working memory that was identified in the original study of Swedish children. Supplementary results indicated good internal and test-retest reliability for the entire scale, as well as for the two subscales identified. Correlation analyses showed no relationship between cognitive measures and the CHEXI subscales. Possible clinical applications for the CHEXI scales are discussed.