California verbal learning test trial among the polish homeless

Introduction Reports on the low intellectual level of the homeless are quite numerous and independent of the geographical location of the study. Aim The aim is to assess cognitive functions among the homeless as measured by the California verbal learning test (CVLT). Material and methods In our study we included 102 homeless people to assess the functioning of verbal memory using the CVLT. The absolute value of the sum of the results in tasks 1–5 amounted only to 36.21 (SD 10.63). Almost 42% of the subjects obtained a sten score of 1 or 2 for this task. Results and discussion In all tested CVLT parameters the homeless people, who were the respondents of the present study, obtained results that were significantly below standards (low or very low). Conclusions These results indicate the presence of large numbers of people with severe verbal memory disorders among the homeless.