PCRS Frequently Asked Questions

1. What if subjects (or significant others) appear to be responding as though they are rating the subject's premorbid level of ability?
2. Can the PCRS be used with aphasic subjects?
3. Has the PCRS been translated into other languages?

1. What if subjects (or significant others) appear to be responding as though they are rating the subject's premorbid level of ability?

This comes up mostly with subjects who have been injured recently and are still hospitalized after a TBI. Respondents sometimes make comments while they are filling out the scale such as, "he was always good at this" or "she never had a problem." In this case the examiner should stress to respondents that they should rate current behaviors and levels of ability. If they are being asked to rate an activity that has not yet been attempted (e.g., driving a car), they should take their best guess based on what they have observed of the subject's current ability level.

2. Can the PCRS be used with aphasic subjects?

As with any verbal self-report measure, the examiner should first determine whether the subject's comprehension of the items will allow valid responding. The items may be read and/ or re-phrased to subjects whose auditory comprehension is superior to reading comprehension. If necessary, the subject may be allowed to point to the items on the response scale rather than saying them aloud.

3. Has the PCRS been translated into other languages?

The PCRS has been used in three cross-cultural studies (Prigatano & Leathem, 1993; Prigatano et al., 1997; Prigatano et al., 1998). In the second study listed, the PCRS was translated into Japanese. In the third, a Spanish version of the PCRS was used.