A revision of the New Adult Reading Test
| dc.contributor.author | Blair, Jennifer R. | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Spreen, Otfried | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-04-26T00:42:16Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-04-26T00:42:16Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1988 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Psychology | |
| dc.description.abstract | A comparison of current with premorbid intellectual level is integral to the assessment of organic deterioration. Premorbid test data are rarely available, however, so methods of estimation are needed. Several methods measure performance on tests which are believed to resist deterioration. Other methods utilize the correlation between demographic variables and actual IQ in unimpaired subjects to estimate premorbid IQ. The limitations of these methods are discussed. The New Adult Reading Test (NART) was developed as another attempt to assess premorbid IQ. Nelson and O'Connell (1978) noted that demented patients' word reading ability was maintained in spite of intellectual deterioration. Since word reading correlated highly with IQ level in a group of unimpaired subjects, it was considered a possible indicator of premorbid intelligence levels. The maintenance of word reading ability is most likely due to previous familiarity with the words, rather than the ability to phonetically decode those words. Difficult words which can only be deciphered through the application of phonetic rules may be correctly read by the unimpaired, but prove too complex for a demented population. In order to capitalize on the individual's familiarity with words, the NART was devised. The NART consists of 50 words which could not be correctly phonetically decoded. In order to pronounce the words correctly, the individual must have previously learned how they sound. Nelson and O'Connell (1978) found that the NART correlated significantly with IQ in an unimpaired population, and discrepancies between predicted (on the basis of NART performance) and actual IQs were significantly greater in a demented population. While the NART has promise as an assessment tool for the determination of premorbid intellectual function, it must be modified for current use in a North American population. The purpose of this study was to develop a revised NART word list and to standardize it on an unimpaired Canadian/U.S. population. Sixty-six unimpaired subjects were tested with a revised NART and all subtests of the WAIS- R. Demographic variables were also recorded in order to compare prediction accuracies between revised NART and demographic variable prediction equations. It was hypothesized that the revised NART score would correlate significantly with FSIQ, VIQ and PIQ. It was also hypothesized that prediction would prove more accurate with the use of equations based on revised NART and demographic variables than with demographic variables alone as outlined by Barona, Reynolds and Chastain (1984). All hypotheses were supported. Correlations between actual VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ, and predicted IQs on the basis of revised NART score were. 83, .40, and .75, respectively, all significant at p<.001. Stepwise multiple regressions of VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ on age, sex, education, occupation, source (U.S. vs. Canadian) and NART score were calculated to generate prediction equations for the estimation of IQs. NART score was the only variable entered into all three prediction equations. Prediction was more accurate with equations based on revised NART score than with prediction equations developed by Barona, et al. (1984). The present study provides strong support for the use of the revised NART as an assessment tool for the determination of organic deterioration. The support of further validation research is needed, however, before it can be used with confidence in a clinical setting. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22027 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | |
| dc.title | A revision of the New Adult Reading Test | |
| dc.type | Thesis |