Questionnaire and Checklist Approaches to Assessment of Everyday Memory Problems

In a brain-injured population, memory and lack of insight are prominent features, and are likely to compound the difficulty of measuring everyday memory problems by self-report. Measurement and identification of real-life memory problems following brain injury have been the focus of discussion and debate by neuropsychologists over recent years. The simplest way of attempting to investigate everyday memory is to use self-report questionnaires. Everyday memory was measured using questionnaires and checklists completed by each subject, and relatives were asked to complete independently corresponding questionnaires and checklists. The low validity of the patient's questionnaire again is likely to be due to the inability to recall memory failures, and suggests that a more accurate self-assessment might be achieved by using methods that minimise the demands placed on a patient's memory. As treatment progresses, and possibly more demands are made on the patient's memory, perhaps as that person becomes more socially active, an increase in the variety of failures may be observed.