Crooks Valerie C, Parsons Thomas D, Buckwalter J Galen
Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA.
BMC Neurol. 2007 May 21;7:10. doi: 10.1186/1471-2377-7-10.
Brief screening tests have been developed to measure cognitive performance and dementia, yet they measure limited cognitive domains and often lack construct validity. Neuropsychological assessments, while comprehensive, are too costly and time-consuming for epidemiological studies. This study's aim was to develop a psychometrically valid telephone administered test of cognitive function in aging.
Using a sequential hierarchical strategy, each stage of test development did not proceed until specified criteria were met. The 30 minute Cognitive Assessment of Later Life Status (CALLS) measure and a 2.5 hour in-person neuropsychological assessment were conducted with a randomly selected sample of 211 participants 65 years and older that included equivalent distributions of men and women from ethnically diverse populations.
Overall Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the CALLS test was 0.81. A principal component analysis of the CALLS tests yielded five components. The CALLS total score was significantly correlated with four neuropsychological assessment components. Older age and having a high school education or less was significantly correlated with lower CALLS total scores. Females scored better overall than males. There were no score differences based on race.
The CALLS test is a valid measure that provides a unique opportunity to reliably and efficiently study cognitive function in large populations.
已开发出简短筛查测试来衡量认知表现和痴呆症，但这些测试所涵盖的认知领域有限，且往往缺乏结构效度。神经心理学评估虽然全面，但对于流行病学研究来说成本过高且耗时过长。本研究的目的是开发一种在心理测量学上有效的通过电话进行的老年人认知功能测试。
采用顺序分层策略，测试开发的每个阶段在满足特定标准之前不会继续进行。对211名65岁及以上的参与者进行了随机抽样，这些参与者包括来自不同种族群体的男女均衡分布，对他们进行了30分钟的晚年生活状态认知评估（CALLS）测量以及2.5小时的面对面神经心理学评估。
CALLS测试的总体克朗巴哈系数α为0.81。对CALLS测试进行主成分分析得出五个成分。CALLS总分与四个神经心理学评估成分显著相关。年龄较大以及具有高中及以下学历与较低的CALLS总分显著相关。女性的总体得分优于男性。基于种族没有得分差异。
CALLS测试是一种有效的测量方法，为在大量人群中可靠且高效地研究认知功能提供了独特的机会。
