Normative data for verbal fluency and naming tests in Spanish-speaking adults in the United States

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 visuoconstructional impairments, yet reliable normative data accounting for sociodemographic aspects of identity and acculturative variables are scarce for Hispanics living in the U.S. Objective: To generate normative data for the ROCF and CDT in a Spanish-speaking adult population living in the U.S. Methods: The sample consisted of 245 participants¿ cognitively normal 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 competence, were included as predictors in the analyses. Results: ROCFT was associated with education and age, particularly as they interact with Spanish language competency, 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 was not moderated by other variables. Conclusions: This is the first study to include acculturation and language proficiency variables in the creation of norms for the assessment of visuoconstruction abilities. This study will have a large impact on the practice of neuropsychology in the U.S.