The effects of acculturation on neuropsychological test performance: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Objectives: This systematic literature review collated a series of empirical works on the relationship between acculturation and performances on neuropsychological tests commonly used in clinical settings. Acculturation is theorized to influence test performance, but the integration between these two concepts is weak in the theoretical literature. The objective of this review was to synthesize quantitative studies of acculturative effects on neuropsychological test performance to extract common findings.

Method: A systematic search strategy was conducted using four databases to find studies using a validated acculturative scale and neuropsychological test(s) that were routinely used in clinical practice. Studies that used statistical methods which accounted or controlled for potential confounding variables were included.

Results: Twenty-one studies were included in the review and a majority covered American minority groups, but three studies were conducted outside the US. Scales of acculturation were mostly unidimensional, and most studies adopted a flexible approach to testing. Seven studies did not produce any significant results between acculturation and cognitive test performance.

Conclusion: Considerable of heterogeneity among the studies limited efforts to synthesize the data. However, tests of verbal and visuospatial delayed memory were consistently robust against the effects of acculturation. Acculturation however, influenced a variety of verbal and non-verbal tests, but findings were dependent on sample characteristics. There were insufficient data to confirm the clinical utility of acculturation measurement alongside testing. Recommendations for future research were discussed.

Keywords:

• Acculturation
• cognitive assessment
• cognitive tests
• neuropsychological tests

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests regarding this article.