Norms for the Trailmaking Test in an older New Zealand population

Abstract

Age norms were collected for the Trailmaking Test. Subjects comprised 127 independently living elderly New Zealanders. A personal information sheet was first administered followed by a series of measures of variables hypothesised to influence the Trailmaking Test performance score. Results indicate that even though some variance in performance in the Trailmaking Test is accounted for by age, most variance in this particular sample is accounted for by intelligence. Intelligence was measured using the Block Design and Vocabulary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised and years of education. The results are discussed in relation to the need for norms for neuropsychological tests and the specific difficulties in testing with an older sample.