Depressive symptoms as a factor in neuropsychological test performance: MMPI-2 and selected tests of the Halstead-Reitan/Halstead-Russell Battery

Abstract

The potential impact of depressive symptoms on neuropsychological test performance has been studied extensively yielding mixed results. Self-report depression inventories have been most often used, without a means to screen participants for response bias. Studies have also neglected to screen participants for incomplete effort in testing. In the present study, 48% of an initial sample of outpatient referrals (N = 247) failed to meet traditional validity criteria. The remaining participants were screened for cerebral pathology and then classified into high and low depressive symptom groups (ns = 46) using the median score on Scale D (Depression) of the MMPI-2. The “high depression” subjects scored over 70 T on the D scale (MN = 80 T). The “low depression” subjects scored below 65 T (MN = 58 T). Age, education, and estimated intelligence were equivalent across groups. Neuropsychological test performances were compared across eight tests: Revised Category Test, Trail Making Test, Part B, Tactual Performance Test (TPT), TPT Memory and Location, Reitan-Indiana Aphasia Screening Test, Seashore Rhythm Test, and the Speech Perception Test. A MANOVA revealed no main effect for group., F(8,69) = 1.05, n.s., and univariate analyses for each test also showed no intergroup differences. The results provide evidence that these neuropsychological tests are appropriately interpreted within a framework of brain-behavior relationships irrespective of an examinee’s emotional status.

Keywords:

• Assessment/diagnosis
• diagnosis
• embeded measures
• tests
• psychopathology

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The RCAT is a short form of the Halstead Category Test (HCT). It is a 95-item version that has six subtests. It was designed by Russell and Levy (1987) who reported a correlation of .97 with the HCT. It received strong cross-validation support as a measure of degrees of cerebral impairment from Taylor, Hunt, and Glaser (1990).