A seven-year follow-up of intelligence test scores of foster grandparents.
After 7 years, a group of originally nonemployed poverty-level older people (over 60) who had been employed as foster grandparents were retested with the WAIS. Four WAIS subtests - Vocabulary Similarities, Digit Span, and Block Design - were employed. Of the original group of 39, complete data were available for 28; 18 of these were still working on the project, and the other 10 had dropped out. Dropouts as a group tested lower originally and also showed more deterioration in functional health ratings over time. For the total group of 32 foster grandparents, three subtest scores showed stability over the 7 years. Only Digit Span showed a statistically significant drop. Neither age nor the initial level of health or WAIS scores was related to test-score changes over time.
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D011203:Poverty; D014825:Vocabulary; D014888:Wechsler Scales