LONGITUDINAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILES OF 2 COGNITIVE STATUS TESTS INVERY OLD ADULTS

Forty-four nondemented adults. over the age of 75 years. were tested a t six-month intervals spanning two years. Study goals were to examine the validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Wechs ler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), to assess the long-term reliability of these instruments, and to examine the longitudinal pro file of this sample. Results showed that the MMSE was moderately corre lated with the WAIS-R. The MMSE had low internal consistency, although the total score behaved reliably across the five occasions. The WAIS- R scales showed a high degree of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. WAIS-R performance remained stable across occasions; howe ver. decline was evident in the MMSE subtests or Attention and Languag e. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.