title: Can we measure cognitive constructs consistently within and across cultures? Evidence from a test battery in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania.
abstract: We developed a test battery for use among children in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania, assessing general intelligence, executive functioning, and school achievement. The instruments were drawn from previously published materials and tests. The instruments were adapted and translated in a systematic way to meet the needs of the three assessment contexts. The instruments were administered by a total of 43 trained assessors to 786 children in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania with a mean age of about 13 years (range: 7-18 years). The battery provides a psychometrically solid basis for evaluating intervention studies in multiple settings. Within-group variation was adequate in each group. The expected positive correlations between test performance and age were found and reliability indices yielded adequate values. A confirmatory factor analysis (not including the literacy and numeracy tests) showed a good fit for a model, merging the intelligence and executive tests in a single factor labeled general intelligence. Measurement weights invariance was found, supporting conceptual equivalence across the three country groups, but not supporting full score comparability across the three countries.
authors.affiliation: a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) , KMTECH , Nairobi , Kenya.
authors.forename: Penny
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holding
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , University of Ghana , Legon , Ghana.
authors.forename: Adote
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anum
authors.affiliation: c Cross-Cultural Psychology, Tilburg University , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Fons J R
authors.initials: FJR
authors.lastname: van de Vijver
authors.affiliation: d Blantyre Malaria Project, College of Medicine, University of Malawi , Malawi.
authors.forename: Maclean
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vokhiwa
authors.affiliation: e Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service , Navrongo , Ghana.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bugase
authors.affiliation: f Research Physician, Malaria Research Group , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Toffajjal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hossen
authors.affiliation: g National Institute of Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre , Dar-es-Salaam , Tanzania.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Makasi
authors.affiliation: h Epidemiology, Ensign College of Public Health , Kpong , Eastern Region , Ghana.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baiden
authors.affiliation: i National Institute of Medical Research, Muhimbili Medical Research Centre , Dar-es-Salaam , Tanzania.
authors.forename: Omari
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kimbute
authors.affiliation: h Epidemiology, Ensign College of Public Health , Kpong , Eastern Region , Ghana.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bangre
authors.affiliation: f Research Physician, Malaria Research Group , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Rafiqul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.affiliation: j Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control , School of Public Health, University of Ghana , Accra , Ghana.
authors.forename: Khadija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nanga
authors.affiliation: h Epidemiology, Ensign College of Public Health , Kpong , Eastern Region , Ghana.
authors.forename: Ransford Paul Selasi
authors.initials: RPS
authors.lastname: Sefenu
authors.affiliation: k Child Development Centre, Chittagong Maa- Shishoo O General Hospital , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Nasmin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: A-Hayat
authors.affiliation: l Department of Pediatric Neurosciences , Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu (Children's) Hospital , Dhaka , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Naila
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: m Epidemiology & Community Medicine, Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Disease (BITID) , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oduro
authors.affiliation: f Research Physician, Malaria Research Group , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Rumana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: n Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Chittagong Medical College , Chittagong , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Rasheda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samad
authors.affiliation: o World Health Organization , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singlovic
authors.affiliation: p Mahidol Oxford Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.|q Dev Care Foundation , Dhaka , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Abul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faiz
authors.affiliation: r The UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Melba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001459:Bangladesh; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013636:Tanzania
keywords: Bangladesh; Ghana; Tanzania; children; executive functioning; intelligence; test adaptations