Modified-Symbol Digit Modalities Test for African Americans, Caribbean Black Americans, and non-Latino Whites: nationally representative normative data from the National Survey of American Life

Abstract

Normative neuropsychological data for U.S. racial/ethnic minorities are limited. Extant norms are based on small, regional groups that may not be nationally representative. The objectives of this study were to (1) provide norms for a modified Symbol Digit Modalities Test (M-SDMT) based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Latino Whites (NLW) living in areas with large populations of Blacks; and (2) determine significant correlates of M-SDMT performance. The M-SDMT was administered to a subset of respondents from the National Survey of American Life in standard face-to-face interviews. M-SDMT performance was influenced by race/ethnicity, age, education, and gender. African Americans and NLW groups had similar M-SDMT performances, which differed from Caribbean Blacks. The Black ethnic differences in M-SDMT were not explained by the sociodemographic factors considered in this study. Unlike previous work, this study supports the consideration of Black ethnicity when evaluating Black neuropsychological test performance.