Implications From Factor Analysis for Central Auditory Processing Disorders Ronald L. Schow Idaho State University, Pocatello Gail Chermak Washington State University, Pullman Central auditory processing disorders among school-age children have been challenging to identify and treat. Many issues remain that need to be resolved. Here, we compare and contrast findings on 331 school-age children who were given two of the more common central auditory processing disorder tests (Staggered Spondaic Word [SSW] Test and the SCAN Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders). These results replicate and reinforce many of the psychometric findings reported earlier. The use of factor analysis with these test results was explored. Significantly, two factors emerged, including an auditory binaural separation from competition factor and a monaural low redundancy degradation factor. These findings help us define the nature of processes probed by the SCAN screening test and the SSW test. Furthermore, these findings clarify the use of SSW and SCAN because they showed both SSW Left Competing and Right Competing loading within the same factor, whereas the three subtests on SCAN sorted into two rather than three factors. Key Words: central auditory processing disorders, factor analysis, SCAN, SSW C entral auditory processing disorders (CAPDs) are among the most challenging disorders facing the school audiologist and other professionals con- cerned with identification and rehabilitation of auditory disorders. CAPDs are defined by an American Speech- Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) consensus docu- ment as deficits observed in one or more of the following central auditory processes: sound localization and lateral- ization, auditory discrimination, auditory pattern recogni- tion, temporal aspects of audition, auditory performance with competing acoustic signals, or auditory performance with degraded acoustic signals (ASHA, 1996; Chermak & Musiek, 1997). McFarland and Cacace (1995; see also Cacace and McFarland, 1998) suggest defining CAPD as a unimodal, auditory perceptual deficit, but they note that the modality-specific nature of such a construct has not been proven. This paper assumes instead that CAPD often coexists with more global dysfunction that may affect performance across modalities (e.g., attention deficit and linguistic deficit), as proposed by the experts from ASHA (1996). Purported methods for identifying these youngsters are plentiful, but the audiologist is faced with a confusing and extensive array of tools for this purpose (Musiek and Chermak, 1994). Most of these tools have not been subjected to extensive psychometric validation. The Stag- gered Spondaic Word (SSW) Test (Katz, 1968) and the SCAN Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders (Keith, 1986) are in the top seven most frequently used tests, according to a recent report (Chermak, Traynham, Seikel, & Musiek, 1998), and they have received more statistical scrutiny than many others. For example, Keith (1986) presents validity and reliability data on the SCAN with a standardization sample of 1034 children. Other studies have examined the reliability and validity of the SSW (Hurley, 1990; Katz & Arndt, 1979). Nevertheless, several authors (Amos & Humes, 1998; Cacace & McFar- land, 1995, 1998) have raised concerns about SCAN reli- ability and, indeed, the reliability and validity of all CAPD tests. Keith, Rudy, Donahue, and Katbamna (1989) examined the relationship between SSW and SCAN scores for a group of 154 school-age youngsters (6 through 15 years) who had been referred due to academic underachievement, poor classroom performance, and/or attentional limitations. This study gave percentile scores across the involved ages for both the SSW and SCAN. Significant correlations were found between the two tests and associated subtests. Even when comparisons are possible with large data sets as noted above, many questions remain concerning identification of children with CAPD, including questions Article 1 American Journal of Audiology ● Vol. 8 ● 1059-0889 © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association http://journals.asha.org