Normative Data for the Halstead Category Test in a Spanish-Speaking Adult Population Living in the U.S./México Border Region

Abstract

Abstract Objective To provide norms applicable to Spanish-speakers living in the US- Mexico border region for the Halstead Category Test, a test of executive function. Participants and Method Healthy Spanish-speakers (n = 252) were recruited from the US–Mexico border regions (Age: M = 37.3, SD = 10.2, range 19-60; Education: M = 10.7, SD = 4.3, range 0-20; 58% female). Participants completed the Category Test as part of a larger neuropsychological test battery. Relationships between demographic variables and raw error scores were assessed using Spearman and Wilcoxon Rank-sum tests. Demographically corrected T-scores for the Category Test were normed using fractional polynomial equations accounting for age, education, and sex. For comparison, T-scores were also computed for the Spanish-speaking normative sample using published norms for English-speaking non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans, which were also adjusted for age, education and sex. Impairment rates based on -1SD (T < 40) were calculated using both, published and current, norms. Results Older age was significantly associated with higher number of errors (Spearman ρ = 0.32, p < .001) and higher education was associated with lower number of errors (Spearman ρ = -0.52, p < .001), with no other significant demographic effects. Applying non-Hispanic norms resulted in overestimation of impairment rates in the Spanish-speaking sample (impairment rate: 48% with White norms and 27% with African American norms). This pattern was evident across levels of education except in participants with 13+ years of education, where rates of impairment using African American norms were comparable to those based on the newly developed norms. Conclusions The present study is the first to develop norms for the Category test in a sample of Spanish-speakers in the US-Mexico border region. These norms will provide tools for the assessment of executive function in this population. Research concerning generalizability of norms to other Spanish-speaking populations is needed.