Qualitative analysis and identification of pattern of errors in Clock Drawing Tests of community-dwelling older adults

Abstract The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a frequently employed screening tool with different scoring systems. Quantitative and semi-quantitative scoring systems, such as Sunderland’s et al. (1989), do not discriminate different error patterns. Thus, the same score can represent a number of different...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barbara Spenciere, Liana Chaves Mendes-Santos, Christina Borges-Lima, Helenice Charchat-Fichman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Neurologia Cognitiva e do Comportamento
Series:Dementia & Neuropsychologia
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642018000200181&lng=en&tlng=en
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Summary:Abstract The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a frequently employed screening tool with different scoring systems. Quantitative and semi-quantitative scoring systems, such as Sunderland’s et al. (1989), do not discriminate different error patterns. Thus, the same score can represent a number of different neuropsychological profiles. Therefore, the use of a scoring method that emphasizes qualitative aspects to determine specific error patterns is fundamental. Objective: To use a qualitative scale to analyze error patterns in the CDTs of older adults who scored 5 in a previous study. Methods: 49 CDTs with score of 5 were analyzed using the qualitative scale. Linear regression and hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses were performed. Results: The linear regression showed a significant association between the total score and all the error patterns of the qualitative scale. The hierarchical cluster yielded three groups. However, due to the heterogeneity observed among the groups, a non-hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to better understand the results. Three groups were determined with different neuropsychological profiles and patterns of errors. Conclusion: The qualitative scoring of the CDT is important when examining and analyzing specific neuropsychological domains in older adults, especially executive functions.
ISSN:1980-5764