Neuoropsychological evaluation of higher functioning homeless persons: A comparison of an abbreviated test battery to the mini-mental state exam

This study examined neuropsychological functioning in a heterogeneous popul ation of persons who were homeless (N = 60) and compared the value of the A bbreviated Halstead-Reitan Test Battery with the Mini-Mental State Exam MMS E). A high incidence of neuropsychological dysfunction was evident with 80% of patients showing impaired test battery performance and 35% showing an i mpaired MMSE. Performance on the Trail Making Test, Part B was especially i mpaired. Patients impaired on Trails B more often showed impaired test batt ery performance, suggesting it may be a better screening tool than the MMSE . Neuropsychological performance was not significantly affected by the pati ents' gender, age, diagnosis, or past psychiatric and medical history. Regr ession analysis suggested that 29% of the variance in test battery performa nce was accounted for by the patients' education. Results support previous findings that large numbers of people who are homeless are neuropsychologic ally impaired; this should be considered when planning treatment and rehabi litation.