Persian version of the dichotic digit test for children: design and evaluation of the psychometric properties

Dichotic digit test (DDT) is a valid neuropsychological tool for determining the dominant hemisphere in verbal processing; therefore, the main goal of this research was designing and investigating the psychometric properties of DDT in a sample of Iranian children and then measuring its concurrent validity using the n-back task.
The present study was a descriptive and psychometric research which was conducted using correlations. 144 children aged between 7-12 years were selected through purposive sampling. To collect data, a DDT which was designed based on the original Persian version of the main dichotic test and validated via the n-back test was also used. Data was analyzed, and the concurrent and descriptive validity of the test was determined using descriptive and inferential statistics as well as correlation and analysis of variance.
Results showed that the DDT has acceptable and valid psychometric properties; the Cronbach's Alpha level of 79% shows the concurrent validity of this test. Meanwhile, with an increase in age, the scores at three measuring scales of this test, i.e. right ear, left ear, and differentiation scale also increased. There was no significant difference between the scores of male and female participants.
It was shown that the DDT which is known to reflect the hemispheric asymmetry in processing verbal information has appropriate psychometric properties among Iranian children, and proved to be applicable in various clinical and research conditions.