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Acculturation, Reading Level, and Neuropsychological Test Performance Among African American Elders

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: The independent effects of cultural and educational experience on neuropsychological test performance were examined among 503 nondemented African Americans ages 65 and older. Measures of cultural experience (acculturation) and quality of education (reading level) were administered. Reading level was the most influential predictor of cognitive test performance, even after accounting for age, sex, years of education, and acculturation level. Age had small but significant unique effects on most measures, especially word list learning. Years of education had independent effects on measures of verbal abstraction, fluency, and figure matching. More acculturated African Americans obtained higher scores on most measures; however, after accounting for age, years of education, sex, and reading level, the effect of acculturation was diminished. The results suggest that quality of education and cultural experience influence how older African Americans approach neuropsychological tasks; therefore, adjustment for these variables may improve specificity of neuropsychological measures.

Source: Applied Neuropsychology

DOI: 10.1207/s15324826an1101_5

Authors: Jennifer J. Manly, Desiree A. Byrd, Pegah Touradji, Yaakov Stern

Institutions: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Alzheimer's Association, National Institute on Aging