Can we measure cognitive constructs consistently within and across cultures? Evidence from a test battery in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania

Abstract

We developed a test battery for use among children in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania, assessing general intelligence, executive functioning, and school achievement. The instruments were drawn from previously published materials and tests. The instruments were adapted and translated in a systematic way to meet the needs of the three assessment contexts. The instruments were administered by a total of 43 trained assessors to 786 children in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Tanzania with a mean age of about 13 years (range: 7-18 years). The battery provides a psychometrically solid basis for evaluating intervention studies in multiple settings. Within-group variation was adequate in each group. The expected positive correlations between test performance and age were found and reliability indices yielded adequate values. A confirmatory factor analysis (not including the literacy and numeracy tests) showed a good fit for a model, merging the intelligence and executive tests in a single factor labeled general intelligence. Measurement weights invariance was found, supporting conceptual equivalence across the three country groups, but not supporting full score comparability across the three countries.

Validity of Neuropsychological Testing in Young African Children Affected by HIV

“…We also computed Spearman rank correlation coefficients for the unadjusted data. Prior cross-cultural work suggests that measures of attention (e.g., TOVA D-prime), memory (e.g., KABC sequential processing) and visual spatial processing would be associated, that working memory and attention would reflect executive function (assessed in this study through the BRIEF) and that sequential processing and mental processing indices would be inversely correlated with TOVA error scores (impulsivity, inattention) 5,36,37 . We were also interested in assessing comparability of performance based (KABC, TOVA) with parental evaluations (BRIEF).…”

“…Other researchers have noted moderate to high test-retest correlations at two to three weeks in three LMIC countries for KABC learning, sequential processing and planning subtests and tests equivalent to KABC simultaneous processing and TOVA measures of inattention and error rates 5 . In that study testing was repeated at two to three weeks, whereas in this study we repeated testing at 48 and 96 weeks.…”

“…Some have questioned the validity of adapting “Western-based” tests to the African context, and have recommended instead the development of altogether new neurodevelopmental assessment batteries more appropriate for such settings along with normative data specific to the target culture 5 . Contrary to this view, Boivin and Giordani (2009, 2013) have proposed that human neurodevelopment can be characterized within a foundational brain/behavior “omnibus”, universally accessible by neuropsychological assessment batteries (even “Western” ones) that are well designed, carefully adapted, and appropriately applied 21,22 .…”

Similarities and differences across countries in the development of executive functions in children: A systematic review

“…Similar patterns were also found for East Asian samples (Wanless et al, ; Weixler, ). In contrast, in Tanzania, boys performed above the levels of their female counterparts on direct EF tasks, with small effect sizes (Holding et al, ). Moreover, in Iran, parents rated boys as having higher EF performance levels, whereas girls received higher rating scores on the same parent questionnaire in the samples from Sweden, Spain, and China (Thorell, Veleiro, Siu, & Mohammadi, ).…”

“…In addition, most studies assessing gender differences in EF development in Western and East Asian countries reported advantages for girls over boys, both on measures of direct assessment and parents' ratings (Thorell et al, ; Wanless et al, ; Weixler, ). However, the results for a sample from Tanzania demonstrated male participants having the advantage on updating measures (Holding et al, ). Furthermore, Iranian parents rated girls' EF as lower than their male peers—a finding directly opposite to the results from Sweden, Spain, and China (Thorell et al, ).…”