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Background: The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) and the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) are commonly used in clinical practice. The ROCFT measures constructional praxis, visual perception, and visuospatial learning and memory, and the CDT assesses for visuospatial, constructional, and executive difficulties. Several neurological disorders are associated with visuospatial and visuo-constructional impairments, yet reliable normative data accounting for sociodemographic and acculturative variables are scarce for Hispanics living in the U.S., Objective: To generate normative data for the ROCFT and CDT in a Spanish-speaking adult population living in the U.S., Methods: The sample consisted of 245 cognitively healthy adults recruited from several states in the U.S. Each participant was administered the ROCFT and CDT as part of a larger cognitive battery. The ROCFT and CDT were normed using a Bayesian approach. Age, age2, education, sex, acculturation, and language proficiency were included as predictors in the analyses., Results: ROCFT performance was associated with education and age, particularly as they interacted with Spanish language proficiency and time spent in the U.S. Education was significantly associated with recall abilities and a lower memory recall on the ROCFT. Age was found to vary depending on a person's bilingual abilities. Sex did not emerge as a predictor of performance, and it did not interact significantly with other variables., Conclusion: This is the first study to include acculturation and language proficiency variables in the creation of norms for the assessment of visuo-constructional abilities. This study will have a large impact on the practice of neuropsychology in the U.S.

Background: Hispanics are the largest growing ethnic minority group in the U.S. Despite significant progress in providing norms for this population, updated normative data are essential., Objective: To present the methodology for a study generating normative neuropsychological test data for Spanish-speaking adults living in the U.S. using Bayesian inference as a novel approach., Methods: The sample consisted of 253 healthy adults from eight U.S. regions, with individuals originating from a diverse array of Latin American countries. To participate, individuals must have met the following criteria: were between 18 and 80 years of age, had lived in the U.S. for at least 1 year, self-identified Spanish as their dominant language, had at least one year of formal education, were able to read and write in Spanish at the time of evaluation, scored≥23 on the Mini-Mental State Examination, <10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire- 9, and <10 on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale. Participants completed 12 neuropsychological tests. Reliability statistics and norms were calculated for all tests., Conclusion: This is the first normative study for Spanish-speaking adults in the U.S. that uses Bayesian linear or generalized linear regression models for generating norms in neuropsychology, implementing sociocultural measures as possible covariates.

Background: Hispanics are a significant demographic in the U.S., with diverse cultures and languages. Assessing cognition in this group is complex as cultural and linguistic factors have been found to affect test performance., Objective: To generate normative data on the World Health Organization-University of California Los Angeles Auditory Verbal Learning Test (WHO-UCLA AVLT) in a sample of Spanish-speaking Hispanics residing in the U.S., Methods: The sample included 245 Spanish-speaking individuals aged 18-80 across the U.S. (California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Participants were administered the WHO-UCLA AVLT as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. A Bayesian regression approach was used to estimate normative data, including covariates found to be important for predicting performances on measures of learning and memory., Results: Bayesian models showed a logarithmic link between education and all WHO-UCLA AVLT trials, except recognition. For delayed recall, increased Spanish proficiency benefited women's performance exclusively. Time in the U.S. was a significant predictor for total recall, indicating worse performance with longer residency., Conclusion: Recognizing cultural factors like language proficiency and duration of U.S. residence is essential for accurately evaluating cognitive function among Spanish-speaking Hispanics. This research emphasizes the importance of accounting for cultural nuances in developing norms for neuropsychological assessments, thereby improving their relevance and effectiveness in diverse communities.

Background: Hispanics/Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic group among underrepresented populations in the U.S. and multiple sociodemographic, cultural, and linguistic factors have been found to impact their performances on cognitive testing. Despite this, few normative data are available for the heterogeneous Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., Objective: To generate normative data on the Trail-Making Test (TMT), Bells Test, Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and the Brief Test of Attention (BTA) for Spanish speakers residing in the U.S., Methods: The sample included 245 Spanish-speaking individuals aged 18- 80 from eight states across the U.S. (California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Participants were administered attention and processing speed measures as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. We used a Bayesian regression approach to estimate normative data, including covariates found to be important for predicting performances on measures of attention and processing speed., Results: Sociodemographic factors including education, time in the U.S., acculturation, age, and/or sex had differential effects on the TMT-A, TMT-B, SDMT, and the BTA whereas the Bells Test was not influenced by any of these sociodemographic factors., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that while sex, age, and educational attainment are important factors to consider, language and acculturation can also influence attention and processing speed performances among Spanish speakers in the U.S.

Background: Linguistic deficits are common across neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Currently there are limited neuropsychological norms available for Spanish-speaking adults residing in the U.S., Objective: To generate norms for two verbal fluency tests and the Boston Naming Test (BNT) in a Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., with adjustments for demographic and cultural variables., Methods: The sample consisted of 245 adults from the U.S. Participants completed phonological and semantic verbal fluency tests and the BNT. A standardized four-step statistical procedure was used., Results: For the phoneme F, interactions between Spanish proficiency, age, and education arose. Better performance on phonemes A, S, and M was related to education. Spanish proficiency, acculturation, and time in the U.S. were associated with the phonemes S, A, P, M, and R. An age by education interaction was found for phonemes M and R. The FAS and PMR triads were related to age, sex, time in U.S., and Spanish proficiency. For the semantic verbal fluency tests, an interaction between education and Spanish proficiency arose. For the BNT, test scores were related to education, and significant interactions were also found based on education's interaction with Spanish proficiency and acculturation., Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of accounting for sociodemographic and acculturative factors when developing normative data for verbal fluency tests and the BNT for dominant Spanish-speaking adults in the U.S. These sociodemographically-adjusted norms will help improve accuracy of diagnosis and interpretation of linguistic test performance in Spanish speakers living in the U.S.

Background: Normative data for Spanish-speaking populations, particularly Hispanics in the U.S., is notably scarce., Objective: This study aims to establish normative data for executive function tests (Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Stroop Color and Word Test) among Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the U.S., Methods: We assessed 245 individuals aged 18-80 from eight U.S. states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin) and employed Bayesian regression to estimate norms, considering various sociodemographic factors influencing performance., Results: The posterior distribution suggests a high probability that age impacts SCWT performance, with older adults likely to show greater declines, particularly among those with high proficiency in Spanish. The posterior distribution suggests a stronger effect of age on M-WCST performance among individuals with longer U.S. residency. Educational attainment demonstrates a robust positive impact on M-WCST outcomes, with lower levels of education associated with a higher probability of increased errors. An interaction between education and Spanish proficiency was observed, influencing SCWT scores differently across proficiency levels. Sex and acculturation levels interact to affect SCWT performance, with distinct patterns observed between men and women. This suggests that the impact of acculturation on cognitive test performance may vary by gender., Conclusion: Establishing culturally sensitive normative data can enhance accurate identification of executive dysfunction and reduce misdiagnosis risks. This study underscores the importance of considering sociocultural factors including acculturation and language proficiency in neuropsychological assessments to better serve diverse populations.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of perceived ethical misconduct in clinical practice, teaching, and research in the field of neuropsychology in Spain., Method: Two hundred and fifteen self-identified mental health professionals who engage in neuropsychology practice in Spain completed an online survey from July to December of 2013. In the ethics section of the survey, participants were asked to identify if neuropsychologists they know who work in their country engaged in specific kinds of ethical misconduct., Results: 41% reported receiving formal training in professional ethics. The clinical findings are as follows. The highest rate of perceived misconduct was found in the area of professional training and expertise, with an average of 40.7%, followed by research/publications (25.6%), clinical care (23.9%), and professional relationships (8.8%). Specifically, regarding training, over half of respondents (56.7%) know professionals who claim themselves to be neuropsychologists, even though they lack proper training or expertise and 46.0% know professionals in the field who do not have adequate training for experience to be working in the field. Regarding research/publications, 41.9% of respondents know professionals who appear as authors on publications where they have not made a significant contribution. Regarding clinical care, over one third of respondents endorse knowing professionals who (1) provide results of neuropsychological evaluations in such a way that patients or other professionals are not likely to understand (37.2%) and (2) do not have the skills or training to work with patients who are culturally different from them (34.9%)., Conclusions: Less than half of survey respondents reported receiving ethics training. It is possible that introducing more or improved ethics courses into pre-graduate and/or graduate school curriculums, and/or requiring continuing ethics education certification may reduce perceived ethical misconduct among neuropsychological professionals in Spain.

Objective: To conduct a literature review of the administration and scoring criteria used in normative studies of verbal fluency tests (VFT), and to propose a new model for the administration and scoring of phonological, semantic, and action VFT for use in Spanish-speakers., Methods: A literature search was performed using four databases Dialnet, ProQuest (PsycINFO, PsycArticles), Science Direct (Elsevier), and PubMed and 47 articles met the following criteria: 1) articles which contained normative data of phonological, semantic, or action VFT, 2) published between 2000 and 2015, 3) published in English or Spanish, 4) used healthy population., Results: Of 2087 citations retrieved, 47 eligible studies were reviewed. The majority of the studies have been conducted in the USA, and with English and Spanish speakers. Only 12 studies provided the instruction, and 23 clearly describe the scoring guidelines. Moreover, among the studies that provided these information important discrepancies were found. Therefore, a new administration and scoring guidelines are presented, which may resolve this problem and be utilized in Spanish speaking countries., Conclusions: This review showed that still there is no consensus regarding the administration and scoring of VFT. A new method of administration and scoring is presented that can be use with Spanish-speakers.

Background: Despite the body of research on caregivers of individuals with various types of disabilities, SCI caregivers have received comparably less attention, especially in regions like Latin America., Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between HRQOL and mental health in SCI caregivers from Colombia., Method: A cross sectional study assessed SCI caregivers (n = 40) in Neiva, Colombia. Participants completed a measure of their HRQOL (SF-36 Health Questionnaire) and four measures of mental health (Satisfaction With Life Scale, Zarit Burden Interview, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory)., Results: A canonical correlation between variables revealed that 64% of the variance was shared between mental health and HRQOL. The domains that loaded highest within the canonical correlation were social functioning, general health, and anxiety, indicating that SCI caregivers with higher anxiety experienced lower social functioning and lower general health. Furthermore, 15 of the 24 bivariate correlations between mental health and HRQOL were statistically significant, suggesting a strong connection between these two sets of variables., Conclusion: Rehabilitation professionals in Latin America should consider the development of caregiver interventions focusing on both physical and mental health, as the two constructs are closely connected through social functioning, general health, and anxiety.