Continued construct validation of the St. Marys CVA Evaluation: Bilateral Awareness Scale.

Previous research suggested that scores on the Schenkenberg Line Bisection Test of unilateral neglect should correlate significantly with bilateral awareness ratings on the St. Marys CVA Evaluation, but that scores on both of these instruments should not correlate with St. Marys perceptual scores. To test this hypothesis, occupational therapists at St. Marys Hospital Medical Center administered the Schenkenberg test and St. Marys CVA Evaluation to 26 cerebral vascular accident (CVA) patients. Spearman rho coefficients were computed. As hypothesized, the correlation between the Schenkenberg test scores and St. Marys bilateral awareness ratings reached statistical significance, and no significant relationship was found between Schenkenberg scores and St. Marys perceptual scores. However, there was a significant relationship between the St. Marys bilateral awareness ratings and perceptual scores. This result may indicate that clinical observations are not adequate to discriminate between unilateral neglect and perceptual impairments. The results further the construct validation process of the St. Marys CVA Evaluation. The data also support the position that unilateral neglect is not primarily a perceptual phenomenon.