The IFS (INECO Frontal Screening) and level of education: Normative data

ABSTRACT

Level of education is known to confound neuropsychological test performance. The INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) is an easy-to-use and brief measure of several domains of executive function, which has previously shown reliably clinical usefulness and superior psychometric performance when compared to other frontal screening instruments. However, previous studies with the IFS have been limited to participants with high levels of education, preventing its generalizability to populations with less than 12 years of formal education. This is crucial, as less than half of the Latin American population and a large percentage of immigrants in developed countries attain high school education. The aim of this study was to generate IFS normative data in a sample stratified by age and education levels. One hundred and sixty one healthy adults were assessed with the IFS as well as measures of global cognitive screening, namely, the Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination Revised and the Mini-Mental State Examination. Multiple lineal regression analysis showed significant effects for education and nonsignificant effects for age. A correction grid for IFS raw scores was developed and cut-off scores were calculated. The correction grid and cut-off scores may be useful in the interpretation of IFS scores in participants with low education.

KEYWORDS:

• Executive function
• illiterate
• INECO Frontal Screening
• low education
• normative data