Normative indications for Xhosa-speaking unskilled workers on the trail making test and the stroop test
- Authors: Andrews, Karen Anne Hope
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests -- Sex differences , Educational tests and measurements -- Sex differences , Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:2926 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002435 , Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests -- Sex differences , Educational tests and measurements -- Sex differences , Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Description: The aim of the study was to produce preliminary normative indications for the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, administered in English, on a non-clinical sample of black, Xhosa-speaking, unskilled individuals (N = 33), with an educational level of 11 – 12 years, in two age categories (18 –29 and 30 – 40 years). The sample was equally distributed for gender and level of education. Participants, who were required to have a basic proficiency in English, were from traditionally black township schools with relatively disadvantaged quality of education. Within-sample age and gender effects were investigated. There were no significant age effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between age groups on the Stroop Test with respect to the Color-Word task, and a result that strongly approached significance on the Word task, with the younger group performing better than the older group. There were no significant gender effects on the Trail Making Test, whereas there was one significant difference between genders on the Stroop Test with respect to the Word task, and a result that approached significance on the Color task, with females performing better than males. Normative indications for both measures were compared to available normative data on western populations with higher levels and more advantaged quality of education. This comparison revealed consistently poorer performances for both the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, confirming the need for localised normative datasets to facilitate accurate neuropsychological diagnoses on culturally disadvantaged individuals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
The effects of age and education on selected cognitive tests: the trail making test, the digit symbol sub-test, and the finger tapping test
- Authors: Stewart, Maureen
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Aging -- Psychological testing , Brain -- Aging , Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3114 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004601 , Aging -- Psychological testing , Brain -- Aging , Neuropsychology , Neuropsychological tests
- Description: Numerous studies have suggested that neuropsychological test performance is affected by demographic variables such as age and education. This study examined the effects of age and education on the Trail Making Test, the Digit Symbol Sub-Test, and the Finger Tapping Test in a non-clinical sample of community dwellers with a relatively low level of education (8 to 12 years) in South Africa. The sample consisted of 161 participants across six age groups: 20-39, 40-59, 69-69, 70-79, 80-89 and 90-95 years. Results were examined for mean age effects and variability trends. Highly significant age effects were present across the age groups for all tests, however, there was no uniform pattern of variability across the tests. The Digit Symbol Substitution Test and the Finger Tapping Tests showed a pattern of increasing variability with increasing age, followed by a decrease in very old age while no trend was evident for the Digit Symbol extensions (the Immediate and Delayed Recall tests). The Trail Making Test, Parts A and B, showed a consistent trend of increasing variability across the age groups. Data from the present study was compared with existing data from two relatively high education samples, with equivalent age groupings, to examine education effects. Results showed an education effect for all tests with the high education groups outperforming the low education groups. Although the effects of education became less potent with advancing age, the mean performance of the oldest (80-89 years) high education age group was superior to that of the equivalent low education age group. Comparison of variability trends across both samples showed that the highest variability (the shuttle bulge) was present at the same point along the age axis, or at a later point, for the low education group, as that for the high education group. This finding is inconsistent with Jordan's (1997) 'shuttle model of variability' which predicts an earlier occurrence of the shuttle bulge (left shuttle shift effect) for a low education sample. This study demonstrated that performance on neuropsychological tests is influenced by age and education and highlighted the dangers inherent in unquestionably applying norms, which have not been corrected for age and education, when assessing the older adult.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003