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The Use of Current Reading Ability in the Assessment of Dementia
Author(s) -
NELSON HAZEL E.,
McKENNA PAT
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
british journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0007-1293
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1975.tb00178.x
Subject(s) - reading (process) , psychology , regression , dementia , vocabulary , regression analysis , structural equation modeling , intelligence quotient , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , statistics , psychiatry , medicine , mathematics , linguistics , philosophy , disease , psychoanalysis
Word‐reading ability and general intelligence level were shown to be highly correlated in a group of normal adults; from this data a regression equation was obtained. Using this regression equation, IQ levels were predicted from reading scores in a group of dementing patients. The evidence strongly suggested that these predicted IQ levels provided close approximations to the premorbid IQ levels. Furthermore, the evidence implied that reading ability is potentially a better indicator of premorbid level of functioning than vocabulary level. The advantages and limitations of using the regression equation in the detection and evaluation of dementia in the individual patient are considered.