Sociocultural and Language Differences in Performance on the Trail Making Test

Authors

  • Ondrej Bezdicek Ondrej Bezdicek, PhD. Psychologist, Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience Charles University in Prague 1st Faculty of Medicine, and General University Hospital in Prague Katerinska 30, 128 21, Praha 2, Czech Republic phone: +4202 2496 5524 mobile: +420 774 895 795 fax: +4202 2492 2678 e-mail: ondrej.bezdicek@gmail.com
  • Ladislav Moták Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail, Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie – Laboratoire Travail et Cognition, UMR 5263 CNRS; Toulouse, France
  • David J. Schretlen Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  • Marek Preiss National Institute of Mental Health; Klecany, Czech Republic
  • Bradley N. Axelrod John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Detroit, Michigan, USA
  • Tomáš Nikolai Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital in Prague, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
  • Javier Peña Department of Methods and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Deusto; Bilbao, Spain
  • Natalia Ojeda Department of Methods and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Deusto; Bilbao, Spain
  • Evžen Růžička Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital in Prague, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether a Czech version of the Trail Making Test (TMT) normative data yield scores that approximate those based on English (North American) and Spanish normative samples. In all samples, TMT Parts A and B were administered according to the guidelines. Completion times for healthy adults from the Czech Republic (n = 422, Bezdicek et al., 2012), the United States (n = 325, Schretlen et al., 2008) and Spain (n = 348, Ojeda, Peña, unpublished data), stratified for age and education, were compared. Czechs took less time to complete TMT-B than English and Spaniards in 70–74 and older age groups (all ps < .01) even after covarying for education, although the amount of variance explained by language (i.e. Czech/Spanish/English) was small (0.3%; p < .001). In addition, TMT-A performance was significantly faster in Czech and English (North American) populations than in Spaniards. In conclusion, this demonstrates a lack of sociocultural equivalence on TMT-A and B, suggesting the need for adjustment of available TMT norms for use in different cultures.

Author Biography

Ondrej Bezdicek, Ondrej Bezdicek, PhD. Psychologist, Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience Charles University in Prague 1st Faculty of Medicine, and General University Hospital in Prague Katerinska 30, 128 21, Praha 2, Czech Republic phone: +4202 2496 5524 mobile: +420 774 895 795 fax: +4202 2492 2678 e-mail: ondrej.bezdicek@gmail.com

psychologist, post-doc, Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience

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Published

2016-07-13

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2016): Archives of Assessment Psychology

Section

Neuropsychological Assessment