The Pediatric Perceived Cognitive Function Item Bank (Ped PCF) consists of 43 items measuring children’s cognitive behaviors. Both parent-reported and child-reported versions are available. The Ped PCF was initially designed for children with cancer who receive neurotoxicity treatments and for other populations of children and adolescents at risk for neurocognitive impairment.

The Ped PCF has satisfactory psychometric properties, as evaluated using both classical test theory and IRT approaches, in use with the US general population (Lai et al, 2011) and with children with cancer. It produces reliable scores that can discriminate between children with (versus without) significant symptoms of attention, social, and thought problems as well as between children with brain tumors versus those with other types of cancer. US general population-based norms are available to serve as a reference.

This measure uses two 5-point rating scales: One is frequency related: (“none of the time” to “all of the time”) and one is intensity related (“not at all” to “very much”). For context, a 4-week timeframe is used. A 7-item short form and a computer adaptive test (CAT) version of the item bank are available.