Validating the short Spanish verbal learning test (SSVLT) in Latino older adults

INTRODUCTION Dementia prevalence is elevated among Latino/Hispanic populations in the United States. Valid, culturally appropriate cognitive assessments are needed to address this disparity. We examined the validity of a short Spanish verbal learning test (SSVLT) as a brief measure of episodic memory. METHODS One hundred seventeen Spanish‐speaking older adults completed the SSVLT. Construct validity was assessed via associations with memory, executive function, and language tasks from the Spanish Uniform Data Set. Ecological validity was evaluated using clinical diagnosis. Relationships to sociodemographic, early‐life adversity, and neuroimaging markers were also examined. RESULTS SSVLT delayed recall scores strongly associated with visual and story memory tasks and showed smaller correlations with language and executive functioning tasks. SSVLT significantly distinguished diagnostic groups. Poor performance was associated with less education, early‐life deprivation, and smaller medial temporal lobe volumes. DISCUSSION Findings begin to support the SSVLT's validity as a brief, culturally appropriate tool for dementia screening in older Spanish‐speaking adults.