The effect of acculturation on cognitive performance among older Hispanics in the United States

Abstract

The effect of acculturation on cognition was examined among 142 older Hispanics: cognitively normal [CN; n = 70], Mild Cognitive Impairment, amnestic [aMCI; n = 27], and Dementia [D; n = 45]. Acculturation levels (high vs. low) were determined using the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH). ANCOVAs used a wide variety of neuropsychological tests as independent variables controlling for age and education. Among CN subjects, the highly acculturated group performed better on Logical Memory delayed recall (LM-II) [F(1, 56) = 9.26, p < .001, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.14], Digit Span Forward [F(1, 56) = 4.37, p < .05, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.07], Trail Making Test A [F(1, 56) = 7.74, p < .05, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.12], and Trail Making Test B [F(1, 56) = 4.66, p = .03, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.08], indicating that high acculturation was associated with a better performance on tests of episodic memory, auditory attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed among CN Hispanics. ANCOVA analyses were not significant among the other groups. In the absence of acculturation scales in clinical practice, caution should be exerted when interpreting neurocognitive results.

Keywords: Acculturation; Hispanics; aging; cognition; neuropsychology.