Derived trail making test indices in a sample of alcohol abusers: demographic effects.
Derived indices on the Trail Making test (TMT), a test often used for screening cognitive impairments, were examined in a sample of alcohol abusers in drug abuse treatment programs. A mixed race sample of 1000 subjects was drawn from electronic files of data from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). The DATOS was a naturalistic, prospective cohort study that collected data from 1991-1993 in 96 programs in 11 cities in the United States. Data were analyzed to determine the effects of demographic variables on derived indices created by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing parts A and B of the TMT in this large treatment sample of alcohol abusers. The variables of age, ethnicity, and education were statistically significant for the total (A + B), interaction (A x B/100), and difference score (B-A) derived indices of the TMT. The ratio score (B/A) was only significant for education.
Roberts
Charles
C
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockwall II Building, Suite 840, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, USA.
Horton
Arthur MacNeill
AM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology