Understanding Disparities in Mental Status Assessment

这项申请建议探索根据种族/民族或教育程度衡量精神状态的差异的意义。我们将通过进行方法论研究来实现这一点，即使用不同方法的模拟和真实数据进行比较分析，以检测项目偏差或差异项目功能、一种特定形式的测量偏差或测量非不变性。我们的研究的动机是经常报道的，但尚未完全了解的种族/民族与多年完成的教育和老年人精神状况测量表现之间的关系。本研究的总体目标是评估种族/民族和教育程度的项目和测试偏差对晚年认知评估测量的影响程度。研究团队包括来自不同机构的研究人员，他们使用项目反应理论的方法研究了测量不变性。我们的研究团队成员一直在努力应用现代心理测量技术来检测认知功能测量中的偏差，然而，我们认识到这一领域的研究还处于初级阶段。为了实现我们在这方面推动这一领域向前发展的目标，我们的具体目标是：(1)对检测有偏见的测试项目的不同方法进行‘基本心理测量学’研究，比较采用不同估计策略的IRT技术；(2)在三个大型一般人口调查中，评估项目偏差可归因于种族/民族和教育程度对评估认知状况的群体差异的程度；以及(3)在认知健康的老年人中，评估教育程度在多大程度上影响(A)日常认知功能任务中的个别项目和整体能力估计，以及(B)神经心理表现(记忆力、推理能力、处理速度)。这些目标将通过分析现有的和可公开获得的数据集或调查人员可获得的数据集(等待公开发布)来实现。这是一个重要的研究领域，它将审查评估偏见以外的机制在多大程度上解释老年人在评估认知方面的群体差异，并为开发适合教育和文化公平的评估工具提供信息。

This application proposes to probe the meaning of differences in the measurement of mental status according to racial/ethnic group or level of educational attainment. We will do this by conducting methodological research, namely, comparative analyses using simulated and real data of different approaches to detecting item bias or differential item functioning, a particular form of measurement bias or measurement non-invariance. Our research is motivated by the often reported but as yet incompletely understood relationship of race/ethnicity and years of completed education and performance on mental status measures among older adults. The overarching goal of this research project is to evaluate the extent that item and test bias by race/ethnicity and level of educational attainment influence performance on cognitive assessment measures in late life. The research team includes investigators from different institutions who have studied measurement invariance using the methods of item response theory. Members of our research team have been at the vanguard of efforts to apply modern psychometric techniques to the detection of bias in the measurement of cognitive function, yet, we recognize that this area of research is in its infancy. To achieve our goal of moving the field forward in this regard, our specific aims are to (1) Conduct 'basic psychometric science' research on differing methodological approaches to detecting biased test items, comparing IRT techniques that employ different estimation strategies; (2) Evaluate the extent that item bias attributable to race/ethnicity and educational attainment impact assessments of group differences in assessed cognitive status in three large general population surveys; and (3) Evaluate, among cognitively healthy older individuals, the extent that educational attainment influences individual items and overall ability estimates in (a) tasks of everyday cognitive functioning, and (b) neuropsychological performance (memory, reasoning ability, speed of processing). These aims will be accomplished by analyzing existing and publicly available data sets, or data sets available to the investigators (pending public release). This is an important area of research that will both examine the extent that mechanisms other than assessment bias explain group differences in assessed cognition among older adults, and inform efforts to develop education appropriate and culture-fair assessment tools.