The Application of the SKT Short Cognitive Performance Test to English-Speaking Populations

Abstract

The SKT (Syndrom-Kurz-Test) is a well-established short cognitive performance test for the detection of attention and memory deficits in Germany. The goal of this paper is to test whether the SKT could be applied to English-speaking populations to screen cognitive impairments in the US, Australia, and Ireland. A regression-based continuous norming technique was applied. Standardized test results obtained from German-speaking (n = 1056) and English-speaking (n = 285) samples were compared. Both samples consisted of cognitively unimpaired, community-dwelling, and independently living volunteers (non-patients) over 60 years of age. Means, medians, and standard deviations of raw scores were calculated. A high similarity in the raw value distributions of the criterion variables and a comparison of German and English multiple regression residuals indicated the equivalence among the samples. In addition, the obtained multiple regression equations for predicting the subtest scores including the explained variances (R2) were highly comparable. Age and intelligence turned out to be the most important and necessary predictors for each subtest performance. The results suggest that the new regression-based norming of the SKT can be validly used in the three English-speaking countries.

Keywords

• neuropsychology
• culture fair test
• regression-based continuous norming
• processing speed