Do neuropsychological tests have the same meaning in Spanish speakers as they do in English speakers?
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine whether neuropsychological tests translated into Spanish measure the same cognitive constructs as the original English versions.


METHODS
Older adult participants (N = 2,664), who did not exhibit dementia from the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a community-based cohort from northern Manhattan, were evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The study cohort includes both English (n = 1,800) and Spanish speakers (n = 864) evaluated in their language of preference. Invariance analyses were conducted across language groups on a structural equation model comprising four neuropsychological factors (memory, language, visual-spatial ability, and processing speed).


RESULTS
The results of the analyses indicated that the four-factor model exhibited partial measurement invariance, demonstrated by invariant factor structure and factor loadings but nonequivalent observed score intercepts.


CONCLUSIONS
The finding of invariant factor structure and factor loadings provides empirical evidence to support the implicit assumption that scores on neuropsychological tests are measuring equivalent psychological traits across these two language groups. At the structural level, the model exhibited invariant factor variances and covariances.
Siedlecki
Karen L
KL
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center.
Manly
Jennifer J
JJ
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center.
Brickman
Adam M
AM
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center.
Schupf
Nicole
N
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center.
Tang
Ming-Xin
MX
Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University Medical Center.
Stern
Yaakov
Y
0000-0001-7542-3241
Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center.
D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D004739:England; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013030:Spain; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D044465:White People