Exploration of the impact of language and culture on neuropsychological tests

The use of neuropsychological tests with regards to language and culture is a relatively under researched area. Previous research has found that cultural familiarity with test-items is important for minimising differences between groups and that completing tests in a second language can increase differences between groups on both language- and performance-based tests.

An exploratory mixed methods design was used for this study. Participants were 46 participants with English as a first language (L1) and 23 participants with English as a second language (L2).

The L1 and L2 participants differed only on the Language index of the SPANS, with L1 participants scoring significantly higher. Participants whose first language is not English reported generally that the test experience was good and the language used in the testing was clear. They reported some anxiety and worry in relation to memory and numbers.

The results of this study support previous research which suggests that language may influence performance on language based neuropsychological tests as well as support for a need for culturally familiar test-items.

As there were minimal differences between the two groups this is support for the SPANS’s use with the tested population with caution given to interpretation of the language index