Cognitive-intellectual functioning of Spanish-speaking impaired and nonimpaired elderly: Implications for culturally sensitive assessment.

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On the basis of prior research (L6pez & Romero, 1988), we examined whether using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) can lead to an underestimation of Spanish-speaking older adults' functioning and whether using the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Adultos (E1WA) can lead to an overestimation of this group's functioning. Spanish-speaking patients who met criteria for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Spanish-speaking nonimpaired elderly were tested with selected subtests from the WAIS-R and EIWA, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. The AD patients' activities of daily living were also assessed. For purposes of comparison, Englishspeaking nonimpaired older adults and AD patients were administered the same tests except that the Wechsler subtests were all taken from the WAIS-R. The results point out clear differences between impaired and nonimpaired groups, and differences and similarities between the two language groups. We interpret the differences between the language groups as reflecting test bias when using either the WAIS-R or EIWA in assessing Spanish-speaking elderly. The findings have implications for defining culturally sensitive psychological assessment.