A group of 317 healthy participants between 54 and 99 years of age performed a verbal fluency task. The participants included Chinese, Hispanic, and Vietnamese immigrants, as well as White and African American English speakers. They were given 1 min to name as many animals as possible in their native language. The results showed that more animal names were produced by younger people and those with more education. Language background was also an important factor: The Vietnamese produced the most animal names and the Spanish speakers produced the fewest. The exaggerated difference between these two groups is attributed to the fact that Vietnamese animal names are short (predominantly 1 syllable) while the Spanish animal names are longer than any other language in this study (2 and 3 syllables per word). Finally, although the ethnic groups named different animals, and appeared to vary in the variety of animal names they used, these factors did not affect overall verbal fluency performance. (JINS, 1998, 4, 531–538.)

On the basis of prior research (L6pez & Romero, 1988), we examined whether using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) can lead to an underestimation of Spanish-speaking older adults' functioning and whether using the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Adultos (E1WA) can lead to an overestimation of this group's functioning. Spanish-speaking patients who met criteria for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Spanish-speaking nonimpaired elderly were tested with selected subtests from the WAIS-R and EIWA, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. The AD patients' activities of daily living were also assessed. For purposes of comparison, Englishspeaking nonimpaired older adults and AD patients were administered the same tests except that the Wechsler subtests were all taken from the WAIS-R. The results point out clear differences between impaired and nonimpaired groups, and differences and similarities between the two language groups. We interpret the differences between the language groups as reflecting test bias when using either the WAIS-R or EIWA in assessing Spanish-speaking elderly. The findings have implications for defining culturally sensitive psychological assessment. The psychologist who chooses to assess Spanish-speaking individuals is confronted with a major challenge: to conduct psychological assessment in a culturally sensitive fashion. Lopez et al. (1989) denned cultural sensitivity as carefully balancing general norms with culture-specific norms in judging a specific patient or client. Consider the example of an elderly women with limited knowledge of English who performs poorly on an English language test such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981). In adopting an etic perspective, a perspective that applies what are thought to be general norms, one may then interpret the test results as reflecting impairment. Compared with the English language standardization sample, this predominantly Spanish-speaking elderly women is functioning at the same level as English-speaking individuals who are impaired in their cognitive-intellectual functioning. In this case, however, it is possible that the belowaverage performance may reflect limited English language skills, an unfamiliarity with the American culture, a limited educational background, or all of these factors. Therefore, when applying etic norms, in this case WAIS-R norms, it seems possible that psychologists could underestimate the cognitiveintellectual functioning of Spanish-speaking adults.

One-hundred fifty-eight elderly Spanish-speaking U.S. residents (81 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and 77 subjects without dementia) were tested with Spanish-language versions of four brief cognitive assessment instruments: the Mini-Mental State Examination (S-MMSE), the Mental Status Questionnaire (S-MSQ), the Information-Memory-Concentration test (S-IMC), and the Orientation-Memory-Conccntration test (S-OMC). Within-group performances were highly correlated for all four instruments. All tests distinguished between the demented and nondemented groups, but best discrimination was achieved with the S-IMC, which correctly classified 98% of subjects. This version was also the best predictor of functional disability, as measured by impairments in instrumental activities of daily living. Within the normal comparison group, neither gender nor a subject's monolingual/bilingual status affected test performance. These four Spanish-language cognitive screening tasks may aid in the evaluation of dementia among Spanish-speaking patients. (J1NS, 1996, 2, 286–298.)

This article examines patterns of legal American immigration (migrations to the United States from abroad) and their direct impact on the acquisition of neuropsychological (NP) normative data for Hispanics. The nonrandom and selective nature of these migrations, and their accompanying demographic attributes, are shown to significantly influence the acquisition process. Specifically, the direct impact of several potential sources of bias while procuring NP norms is explored. Total number of immigrants (absolute immigration), occupational allegiance (and possibly education), and intended area of initial residence seem to play influential roles as a result of their direct impact on demographic characteristics known to have significant effects on neuropsychological performance. Possible solutions capable of enhancing the acquisition process are also addressed.

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