Article

Khokhlov Nikita A., Serdyuk. Alexandra E. (2019). Quantitative estimates of performance on the Taylor Complex Figure (TCF) by children aged 4-17 years. National Psychological Journal, 1, 88-108

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 Integrated 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 Integrated 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 complex 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 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.

Received: 01/27/2019
Accepted: 04/17/2019
Pages: 88-108
DOI: 10.11621/npj.2019.0109

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Keywords: guideline exposure; children; neuropsychological diagnostics; constructive-spatial functions; visual memory disorder; spatial conceptions; validity;

Available Online 30.04.2019

Table 2. Age standards of using “Taylor Integrated Figure” technique

Age (years)	4–5	6–7	8–9	10–12	13–17
Quantitative Evaluation
Copy - figure(CF)	8.6 ± 4.2	13.8 ± 2.3	15.7 ± 1.4	16.4 ± 1.2	17 ± 1.4
Copy – placement(CP)	9.4 ± 5	14.5 ± 2.7	16.5 ± 1.4	17.1 ± 1.1	17.5 ± 1.3
Reproduction – figure (RF)	5.3 ± 4	9.4 ± 3.2	11.7 ± 3.6	12.5 ± 2.9	13.8 ± 3
Reproduction – placement(RP)	5.7 ± 4.5	9.7 ± 3.5	12.4 ± 3.8	13.3 ± 3.2	14.6 ± 3.1
Copy (C)	18 ± 9.1	28.3 ± 4.8	32.3 ± 2.5	33.5 ± 2.2	34.5 ± 2.6
Reproduction (R)	11 ± 8.4	19.1 ± 6.6	24.1 ± 7.3	25.8 ± 6	28.4 ± 6
Figure (F)	13.8 ± 7.7	23.1 ± 5	27.4 ± 4.5	28.9 ± 3.7	30.7 ± 3.9
Placement (P)	15.1 ± 8.9	24.3 ± 5.5	29 ± 4.8	30.4 ± 3.8	32.1 ± 3.8
Total Score	29 ± 16.4	47.4 ± 10.3	56.3 ± 9.1	59.2 ± 7.3	62.8 ± 7.6
Qualitative Evaluation
Copy – metric representations(CM)	2.1 ± 1	3.2 ± 0.7	3.6 ± 0.7	4 ± 0.6	4.3 ± 0.6
Copy-structural topological representations (CST)	2.3 ± 1.2	3.3 ± 0.9	4.1 ± 0.7	4.4 ± 0.7	4.7 ± 0.5
Reproduction – metric representations(RM)	1.5 ± 1	2.7 ± 0.8	3.3 ± 0.8	3.6 ± 0.7	4 ± 0.7
Reproduction - structural and topological representations (RST)	1.5 ± 1.1	2.4 ± 0.9	3.1 ± 1	3.4 ± 0.8	3.8 ± 0.9

Table 3. Taylor Complex Figure elements

№	Taylor Complex Figure elements	Initial Scale				Mean
№	Taylor Complex Figure elements	CF	CP	RF	RP	Mean
1	Arrow at left	-2.5621	-2.4849	-1.2341	-1.1965	-1.8694
2	Triangle at left	-1.9612	-2.1595	-1.1524	-1.3038	-1.6442
3	Square	-0.5549	-2.4481	-0.3757	-1.7047	-1.2709
4	Horizontal line	-1.5873	-1.8105	-1.0601	-1.0951	-1.3883
5	Vertical line	-1.5779	-1.3276	-0.9717	-0.836	-1.1783
6	Horizontal line in top half	-1.219	-1.4181	0.6419	0.6185	-0.3442
7	Diagonals in top left quadrant	-2.1312	-1.7253	-0.7011	-0.6477	-1.3013
8	Square in top left quadrant	-1.4609	-1.6254	-0.4756	-0.5607	-1.0307
9	Circle	-2.7338	-2.2795	-1.088	-0.9717	-1.7683
10	Rectangle	-1.8105	-1.9368	-0.3757	-0.3867	-1.1274
11	Arrow at top right quadrant	-2.0499	-1.3117	-1.067	-0.5952	-1.256
12	Semicircle	-1.7779	-1.204	-0.2722	0.0318	-0.8056
13	Triangles	-1.5593	-1.4351	0.3374	0.0637	-0.6483
14	Dots	-1.0053	-1.6254	-0.1488	-0.4532	-0.8082
15	Horizontal line between dots	-2.0765	-2.0499	-0.1328	-0.0956	-1.0887
16	Triangle at bottom	-2.0112	-2.2031	-0.2668	-0.2722	-1.1883
17	Streacky wave	-0.4365	-1.9249	0.1051	-0.9321	-0.7971
18	Star	-0.5607	-2.1595	0.2237	-0.47	-0.7416

Table 4. Neuropsychological validity regression models of “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (total score)

Neuropsychological characteristics	Standardizedcoefficient	R²	Adjusted R²
4–17 years (together)
Visual memory	0.536	0.426	0.425
Constructive-spatial functions	0.115	0.454	0.451
Thinking	0.113	0.469	0.464
Dynamic Praxis	0.092	0.478	0.472
Visual perception	0.091	0.484	0.477
4–5 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.429	0.28	0.26
Thinking	0.301	0.413	0.379
Oral-verbal memory	0.295	0.491	0.445
6–7 years
Visual memory	0.432	0.279	0.272
Visual perception	0.229	0.327	0.313
Dynamic Praxis	0.184	0.361	0.341
8–9 years
Visual memory	0.585	0.582	0.574
Visual perception	0.253	0.64	0.626
Dynamic Praxis	0.23	0.698	0.68
Constructive-spatial functions	0.174	0.724	0.701
10–12 years
Visual memory	0.663	0.503	0.495
Dynamic Praxis	0.289	0.584	0.572
13–17 years
Visual memory	0.641	0.611	0.606
Constructive-spatial functions	0.269	0.664	0.655

Table 5. Regression models of neuropsychological validity of the “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (on the secondary scale “Copy”)

Neuropsychological characteristics	Standardizedcoefficient	R²	скорректированныйR²
4–17 years (все вместе)
Constructive-spatial functions	0.276	0.153	0.150
Regulatory functions	0.164	0.196	0.191
Dynamic Praxis	0.134	0.212	0.205
Visual memory	0.129	0.226	0.217
4–5 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.509	0.287	0.266
Attention	0.323	0.39	0.354
6–7 years
Visual perception	0.196	0.109	0.1
Dynamic Praxis	0.204	0.166	0.148
Constructive-spatial functions	0.248	0.217	0.192
Regulatory functions	0.198	0.253	0.222
8–9 years
Regulatory functions	0.301	0.254	0.239
Constructive-spatial functions	0.292	0.36	0.335
Dynamic Praxis	0.282	0.426	0.392
Visual perception	0.229	0.476	0.434
10–12 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.337	0.256	0.245
Dynamic Praxis	0.311	0.366	0.347
Attention	0.25	0.424	0.398
13–17 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.415	0.173	0.161

Table 6. Regression models of neuropsychological validity of the “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (on the secondary scale “Reproduction”)

Neuropsychological characteristics	Standardizedcoefficient	R²	Adjusted R²
4–17 years (все вместе)
Visual memory	0.605	0.494	0.493
Oral-verbal memory	0.125	0.514	0.511
Visual perception	0.107	0.525	0.521
Regulatory functions	0.084	0.532	0.526
4–5 years
Visual memory	0.357	0.364	0.346
Oral-verbal memory	0.331	0.476	0.445
Constructive-spatial functions	0.314	0.56	0.52
6–7 years
Visual memory	0.495	0.358	0.351
Speech	0.201	0.41	0.398
Visual perception	0.175	0.435	0.417
8-9 years
Visual memory	0.662	0.598	0.591
Visual perception	0.279	0.663	0.65
Dynamic Praxis	0.177	0.693	0.675
10–12 years
Visual memory	0.729	0.573	0.567
Dynamic Praxis	0.180	0.605	0.593
13–17 years
Visual memory	0.719	0.684	0.68
Constructive-spatial functions	0.206	0.715	0.707

Table 7. Regression models of neuropsychological validity of the “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (on the secondary scale “Figure”)

Neuropsychological characteristics	Standardizedcoefficient	R²	Adjusted R²
4–17 years (все вместе)
Visual memory	0.452	0.379	0.377
Constructive-spatial functions	0.134	0.411	0.407
Thinking	0.105	0.427	0.422
Oral-verbal memory	0.101	0.439	0.432
Visual perception	0.102	0.448	0.440
Regulatory functions	0.091	0.456	0.446
4–5 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.41	0.266	0.245
Oral-verbal memory	0.334	0.415	0.381
Thinking	0.268	0.482	0.435
6–7 years
Visual memory	0.361	0.269	0.262
Visual perception	0.256	0.34	0.326
Oral-verbal memory	0.217	0.388	0.369
Dynamic Praxis	0.17	0.417	0.392
8–9 years
Visual memory	0.586	0.506	0.497
Visual perception	0.284	0.57	0.554
Dynamic Praxis	0.243	0.627	0.605
10–12 years
Visual memory	0.614	0.429	0.421
Dynamic Praxis	0.262	0.496	0.482
13–17 years
Visual memory	0.56	0.526	0.519
Constructive-spatial functions	0.314	0.597	0.586

Table 8. Regression models of neuropsychological validity of the “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (on the secondary scale “Placement”)

Neuropsychological characteristics	Standardizedcoefficient	R²	Adjusted R²
4–17 years (все вместе)
Visual memory	0.571	0.43	0.429
Constructive-spatial functions	0.119	0.452	0.448
Thinking	0.104	0.463	0.458
Dynamic Praxis	0.088	0.47	0.464
4–5 years
Constructive-spatial functions	0.453	0.299	0.279
Thinking	0.301	0.428	0.394
Oral-verbal memory	0.269	0.492	0.446
6–7 years
Visual memory	0.431	0.262	0.254
Dynamic Praxis	0.193	0.302	0.287
Visual perception	0.188	0.332	0.311
8–9 years
Visual memory	0.601	0.61	0.603
Visual perception	0.266	0.678	0.666
Constructive-spatial functions	0.205	0.72	0.704
Dynamic Praxis	0.161	0.745	0.725
10–12 years
Visual memory	0.664	0.503	0.496
Dynamic Praxis	0.271	0.582	0.57
Progress rate	0.169	0.611	0.593
13–17 years
Visual memory	0.723	0.662	0.658
Constructive-spatial functions	0.173	0.684	0.675

Table 9. Predicted data of neurocognitive deficiency “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (total score)

	Obtained data
Predicted data	With neurocognitive deficiency	Without neurocognitive deficiency
With neurocognitive deficiency	36	63
Without neurocognitive deficiency	19	222

Table 10. Predicted data of neurocognitive deficiency “Taylor Complex Figure” technique (“Copy” scale)

	Obtained data
Predicted data	With neurocognitive deficiency	With neurocognitive deficiency
With neurocognitive deficiency	27	55
Without neurocognitive deficiency	28	230

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For citing this article:

Khokhlov Nikita A., Serdyuk. Alexandra E. (2019). Quantitative estimates of performance on the Taylor Complex Figure (TCF) by children aged 4-17 years. National Psychological Journal, 1, 88-108