A – 80 Tests That Miss the Mark? Neuropsychological Disparities Between Arab and White Patients

Objective A need exists for culturally sensitive neuropsychological assessment of Arab Americans, as research on cultural biases of neuropsychological tests for this population is limited. This study examines differences in auditory attention, working memory, and processing speed performances between Arab American and White patients. Method Participants included Arab and White individuals aged 8 to 63 years old seen at a neuropsychology private practice in the Midwest. All participants were administered Digit Span, Symbol Search, and Coding (CD) subtests on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) or Wechsler Intelligence Scale Children-V (WISC-V). Participants were matched by age, education, gender, and diagnosis. Diagnoses were coded as: psychiatric (excluding personality/psychotic disorders and substance use), neurodevelopmental, or neurological. A paired-samples t-test compared performance on each subtest. Results 60 participants including 30 Arab and 30 White individuals, 50% male (White mean age = 27.67, SD = 13.53, mean education = 14.17, SD = 4.29; Arab mean age = 27.63, SD = 13.41, mean education = 14.6, SD = 4.83) were compared. Results revealed a significant difference in performance on WAIS-IV or WISC-V CD (t(29) = -2.079, p < .05, Cohen’s d = 6.07); White patients obtained higher scaled scores (White M = 11.5, SD = 5.38; Arab M = 9.20, SD = 2.54). Conclusion Observed performance differences may reflect cultural-based differences (e.g., scanning and writing from left to right) and unreliably estimated processing speed in Arab Americans. Future studies may include larger samples, narrowed demographics and diagnoses, and consider other cultural factors (e.g., bilingualism, acculturation) as potential mediating factors.