An investigation of the measurement properties of the Spot-the-Word test in a community sample.

Full Abstract

Intellectual ability is assessed with the Spot-the-Word (STW) test (A. Baddeley, H. Emslie, & I. Nimmo Smith, 1993) by asking respondents to identify a word in a word-nonword item pair. Results in moderate-sized samples suggest this ability is resistant to decline due to dementia. The authors used a 3-parameter item response theory model to investigate the measurement properties of the STW in a large community-dwelling sample (n=2,480) 60 to 64 years of age. A number of poorly performing items were identified. Substantial guessing was present; however, the number of words correctly identified was found to be an accurate index of ability. Performance was moderately related to a number of tests of cognitive performance and was effectively unrelated to visual acuity and to physical or mental health status. The STW is a promising test of ability that, in the future, may be refined by the deletion or replacement of poorly functioning items.

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Author information

Author/s: Mackinnon, Andrew (A); Christensen, Helen (H);

Affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Australia. Andrew.Mackinnon@anu.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Psychological assessment (Psychol Assess), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Dec; vol 19 (issue 4) : pp 459-68

Dates: Created 2007/12/18; Completed 2008/03/12;

PMID: 18085938, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aging - psychology
Australia
Cognition
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; psychology
Cohort Studies
Dementia - diagnosis; psychology
Female
Forced Expiratory Volume
Hand Strength
Humans
Intelligence

Intelligence
Intelligence Tests - statistics & numerical data
Language Tests - statistics & numerical data
Male
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Reaction Time
Reading
Reproducibility of Results
Residence Characteristics

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