Национальный психологический журнал (Jan 2019)
Quantitative estimates of performance on the Taylor Complex Figure (TCF) by children aged 4-17 years
Abstract
Introduction. The Taylor Complex Figure (TCF) technique is one of the neuropsychologist’s tools and is used to diagnose children after 4 y.o. and adults for assessing visual spatial characteristics, visual constructive skills and visual memory. However, the lack of quantitative standards for using the Taylor method obtained within the Russian sample makes it difficult to apply it both in research and in practical work. The Objective is to obtain age standards of the “Taylor Complex Figure” technique on children 4–17 years old, and also to validate it according to the results of a neuropsychological examination. Procedure. The study used the quantitative approach to assess the “Taylor Complex Figure” children of 4–17 years. Each of the 18 elements of the figure was evaluated by the quality of the pattern and the correctness of the placement in space. The figure obtained by copying the original image and the figure reproduced by memory 20 minutes after copying were separately evaluated. Additionally, a qualitative assessment of the figures was carried out according to the level of development of metric and structural topological representations. The study involved 377 children, of which 243 boys and 134 girls aged from 52 to 214 months (average age – 117 ± 42 months). Results. The nonlinear dependence of the estimated indicators on age was found. Age standards for the implementation of the technique for 5 age groups (4–5, 6–7, 8–9, 10–12, 13–17 years) were calculated. Indicators of the complexity of working with each element of the figure were obtained. Based on the analysis of the success ratio of the simplest and most difficult elements of the figure, a mathematically grounded threshold for making a decision on the presence of aggravation has been proposed. The validity of the technique was assessed based on the results of a neuropsychological examination. It is shown that the technique to the greatest extent measures structural and spatial functions and visual memory, however in children under 13 years, it has low discriminant validity with respect to other neuropsychological characteristics. The substantive validity of qualitative assessments and quantitative indicators is in many respects the same, while quantitative indicators are about 1.5 times more strongly associated with the results of neuropsychological diagnostics. Conclusion. Analysis of the predictive ability of logistic regression models indicates the possibility of applying the technique for screening diagnostics at school. The method allows separating children without neurocognitive deficiency from those who need to undergo a full neuropsychological examination.
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