Development and validation of a self-report questionnaire to assess executive functions in healthy adults: the Executive Functions in Healthy Adults Questionnaire (EFHAQ)

Aim of this research was to develop and validate a time-efficient, ecologically valid self-report questionnaire measuring executive functions in healthy adults, grounded in the unity/diversity framework of Miyake (i.e., inhibition, updating, shifting). Across a pre-study and three main studies (Ntotal = 1.574), an initial 55-item pool was refined to a final 15-item set. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Studies 1-3) revealed, while the data did not support the expected three-factor model, a stable five-factor structure with the factors flexibility, focusing, inhibition, adaptation, and weighing up. The subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistencies (Studies 1-3) and test-retest reliability over three weeks (Study 3). Construct validity was supported by significant correlations with established measures of self-regulation abilities (Studies 1-3). Criterion validity was shown by associations with life satisfaction and affective well-being (Study 3). Although limited by a predominantly young, highly educated sample, the questionnaire provides a reliable and valid open-access tool for examining the role of executive functions in health behavior, academic achievement or social functioning.