Understanding Disparities in Mental Status Assessment

本申请旨在探讨不同种族/民族或文化程度的心理状态测量差异的意义。我们将通过方法学研究来做到这一点，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但尚未完全理解的种族/民族与完成教育的年数和老年人心理状态测量的表现之间的关系。本研究项目的总体目标是评估种族/民族和受教育程度的项目和测试偏差对晚年认知评估指标的影响程度。研究团队包括来自不同机构的研究者，他们利用项目反应理论的方法对测量不变性进行了研究。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，我们认识到这一研究领域尚处于起步阶段。为了实现我们在这方面推动该领域向前发展的目标，我们的具体目标是：(1)对检测偏倚测试项目的不同方法进行“基础心理测量科学”研究，比较采用不同估计策略的IRT技术；(2)在三次大型普通人群调查中，评估种族/民族和受教育程度导致的项目偏差对群体认知状态评估差异的影响程度；(3)评估在认知健康的老年人中，受教育程度对(a)日常认知功能任务和(b)神经心理表现（记忆、推理能力、处理速度）的个人项目和整体能力估计的影响程度。这些目标将通过分析现有和公开可用的数据集或调查人员可用的数据集（待公开发布）来实现。这是一个重要的研究领域，它将检验除评估偏差之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.