Dementia & Neuropsychologia ()

Qualitative analysis and identification of pattern of errors in Clock Drawing Tests of community-dwelling older adults

  • Barbara Spenciere,
  • Liana Chaves Mendes-Santos,
  • Christina Borges-Lima,
  • Helenice Charchat-Fichman

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642018dn12-020011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 2
pp. 181 – 188

Abstract

Read online

Abstract The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a frequently employed screening tool with different scoring systems. Quantitative and semi-quantitative scoring systems, such as Sunderland’s et al. (1989), do not discriminate different error patterns. Thus, the same score can represent a number of different neuropsychological profiles. Therefore, the use of a scoring method that emphasizes qualitative aspects to determine specific error patterns is fundamental. Objective: To use a qualitative scale to analyze error patterns in the CDTs of older adults who scored 5 in a previous study. Methods: 49 CDTs with score of 5 were analyzed using the qualitative scale. Linear regression and hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses were performed. Results: The linear regression showed a significant association between the total score and all the error patterns of the qualitative scale. The hierarchical cluster yielded three groups. However, due to the heterogeneity observed among the groups, a non-hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to better understand the results. Three groups were determined with different neuropsychological profiles and patterns of errors. Conclusion: The qualitative scoring of the CDT is important when examining and analyzing specific neuropsychological domains in older adults, especially executive functions.

Keywords