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The Rookwood Driving Battery: Normative older adult performance
Author(s) -
Rees Janice.,
McKenna Pat.,
Bell Vaughan.,
Skucek Emily.,
Nichols E.,
Fisher P.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1348/014466507x236042
Subject(s) - normative , psychology , neuropsychological test , cognition , neuropsychology , age groups , cohort , battery (electricity) , gerontology , demography , medicine , psychiatry , philosophy , power (physics) , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , sociology
Objectives The current study aimed to obtain older adult normative data on a neuropsychological battery in relation to functions underlying driving ability. The effect of age on performance on the battery was previously unknown; normative data revision was necessary to enable more appropriate use of the battery with older clients. Design Cross‐sectional cohort study. Methods Volunteers were sought from healthy older people living independently in the community to complete the Rookwood Driving Battery. A group of 202 volunteers above the age of 70 were recruited from local social groups to complete the battery. Of these, 184 completed a screening test of cognitive integrity (Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE). The age ranged from 70 to 96 (mean age=81 years, SD = 5.438). In the total sample, 155 (77%) were females. Results Results of the MMSE indicated that 161 (87.5%) of the group fell above a cut‐off (25/30) typically used in epidemiological studies to identify age‐related cognitive decline. Of these cognitively intact volunteers, performance was marked by higher battery error scores (mean=5.12, SD = 3.75) than those observed in an earlier normative study using younger volunteers below 70 years of age (mean=1.41, SD = 1.87). The two age groups differed significantly on all 10 battery subtests; in all cases the level of significance was .002 or less; for nine subtests, significance fell below .001. In the ‘intact’ older group, battery performance was observed to be closely related to score on the MMSE, a test of general cognitive integrity ( r = .558, p = .01). Conclusions Performance on the Rookwood Battery differs for the over 70s and under 70s. The authors suggest essential modifications in its use with older people.