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Psychometric properties and normative data of the Italian version of the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire: a screening tool for detecting subjective cognitive complaints at work

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Abstract

Introduction

Considering the extension of working life due to socioeconomic and political factors, many people may experience cognitive complaints (CC) at their workplace, with severe consequences on their quality of life. The identification of workers reporting significative SCC is crucial to eventually address them to an objective neuropsychological evaluation and implement cognitive interventions to guarantee workers’ well-being. Since no Italian questionnaires for detecting CC were designed for occupational settings, the aim of the study was to validate the Italian version of the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) and to provide its normative data.

Materials and methods

Internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and factorial structure of the CFWQ were evaluated. A regression-based procedure served to compute percentiles of CFWQ and its subscales.

Results

Four hundred twenty-one participants without psychiatric and/or neurological disorders completed the survey. We found that the Italian CFWQ included 26 items, with a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.897) and a six-factor structure (memory, language, processing speed, abstract thinking/behavioral control, behavioral inertia, planning ability). CFWQ score did not correlate with empathy but correlated strongly with memory scores and moderately with anxiety and depression scores.

Conclusions

The Italian CFWQ showed good psychometric properties, in analogy with the original English scale. Therefore, it can be successfully employed in organizational contexts to possibly identify workers with CC and therefore with possible co-occurrent psychological, behavioral, and cognitive consequences.

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Data availability

The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Author notes

  1. Manuela Altieri and Gianpaolo Maggi contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy

    Manuela Altieri, Gianpaolo Maggi, Chiara Giacobbe & Gabriella Santangelo

  2. Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

    Manuela Altieri

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Correspondence to Gabriella Santangelo.

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Altieri, M., Maggi, G., Giacobbe, C. et al. Psychometric properties and normative data of the Italian version of the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire: a screening tool for detecting subjective cognitive complaints at work. Neurol Sci 45, 2593–2603 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-07265-y

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