Demographic Effects on the Trail Making Test in Narcotic/Other Opiate Abusers

Abstract

Demographic effects on the Trail Making Test (TMT), a test often used to screen for cognitive impairments, were examined in a sample of narcotic/other opiate abusers in drug abuse treatment programs. A sample was drawn from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). The DATOS was a naturalistic, prospective cohort study that collected data from 1991 through 1993 in 96 programs within 11 cities in the United States. The number of narcotic/other opiate abusers' scores available for analysis was 191. Data were analyzed to determine the effects of sex, ethnicity, age, and education on the two parts of the TMT in this sample of narcotic/other opiate abusers. The variables of age and education level were statistically significantly related to TMT parts A and B, and ethnicity was statistically significant for part B of the TMT. R-square values for overall models were moderate (A =. 34, B =. 24), suggesting that demographic effects on the TMT are moderate.

Key Words:

• narcotics
• substance abuse treatment
• trail making test
• demographic effects