The Boston Naming Test-South African Short Form, Part I: Psychometric properties in a group of healthy English-speaking university students

Abstract

The Boston Naming Test (BNT) is a popular cognitive test designed to detect word-finding difficulties in neurologic disease. However, numerous studies have demonstrated the BNT’s inherent cultural bias and cautioned against uncritical administration outside of North America. There is little research on the BNT performance of South African samples and on ways to make the test culturally fair for use in this country. In this article, we describe the development and psychometric properties of the BNT-South African Short Form (BNT-SASF). This instrument includes 15 items drawn from the original test pool and judged by a panel of practising neuropsychologists and community members to be culturally appropriate for use in South Africa. We administered the standard 60-item BNT and the BNT-SASF to a homogeneous (English-fluent, high socioeconomic status and highly educated) sample of young South African adults. This design allowed us to avoid potentially confounding sociodemographic influences in our evaluation of the instrument’s basic utility. We found that the BNT-SASF demonstrates fundamental psychometric properties that are the equivalent of short forms developed elsewhere. Moreover, it appears to measure the same construct as the 60-item BNT while being less culturally biased. We conclude that the BNT-SASF has potential utility in South African assessment settings. It is quick and easy to administer, thus aiding in the rapid screening of patients. Moreover, it is cost-effective because its items are drawn from the pool comprising the original test. Future research will describe psychometric properties of Afrikaans and isiXhosa versions of the BNT-SASF and investigate diagnostic validity in dementia patients.