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Using the Barnes Language Assessment with older ethnic minority groups
Author(s) -
Ramsey Victoria,
Stevens Susan,
Bryan Karen,
Binder Julia,
CockleHearne Jane
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.2158
Subject(s) - ethnic group , psychology , dementia , significant difference , test (biology) , language assessment , language barrier , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , linguistics , medicine , mathematics education , paleontology , philosophy , disease , pathology , sociology , anthropology , biology
Objective There are many issues concerning the assessment of older people from ethnic minority groups, the most significant being the language barrier experienced by those whose English is an additional language (EAL). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that EAL participants would score less well than those with English as a first language (EFL) on the sub‐tests of the Barnes Language Assessment (BLA), elucidate the reasons for any such differences and discuss the implications. Methods The Barnes Language Assessment (BLA) is an accurate tool providing information about expected patterns of language in different dementia syndromes. This study compares the performance of EAL participants with EFL participants. The BLA was administered to 144 participants, divided into sub‐groups with respect to age, gender and educational background, none of whom had a working diagnosis of dementia. Results Results suggest that EAL speakers performed less well compared to EFL speakers when other variables were matched. Significantly better BLA scores, at the one percent level, were found in both EAL and EFL groups with higher educational achievement for eight of the 15 sub‐tests. Conclusion Differences were found in performance on the BLA between EAL and EFL participants. The degree of difference between EAL and EFL speakers decreased as educational achievement rose. The consequences of these findings for service delivery and the problems of recruitment of older EAL participants are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.