MacAulay lab publishes findings in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology
As part of the National Academy of Neuropsychology clinical research trial grant, the Cognition Aging Resiliency and Enhancement (CARE) Lab directed by University of Maine assistant professor Rebecca MacAulay recently published its findings on the psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox in comparison to gold-standard cognitive measures in socioeconomically diverse older adults in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. This study addressed important gaps in the literature that have suggested that there are interactions between computerized measures with SES and familiarity with technology use that may create potential test bias in certain populations. Results from this study found important education-related differences that suggested that the computerized measures as compared to the gold-standard (GS) paper-pencil were not equivalent. Findings from this study also revealed a significant socioeconomic-related digital divide in comfort with technology use in older adults. These findings overall reduce confidence in the use of the NIHTB-CB Fluid composite measure in older adults and also raised questions as to the suitability of existing GS norms in noncollege-educated older adults.