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Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans pp 237–246Cite as

Screening for Cognitive Decline and Assessment of Dementia with African Americans

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Abstract

In this chapter we review the literature on cognitive decline and dementia in African American elders with a specific focus on the Mini-Mental Status Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Cognistat, Short Blessed Test, Mini-Cog-Functional Activities Questionnaire (MC-FAQ), Community Screening Interview for Dementia (CSI-D), AD-8, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and examination of ADLs and IADLs. In our review of the literature we found that adjustments to cutoff scores for screening measures may be necessary based on age, education, and literacy level. In addition, there are a number of cultural considerations that must be taken into account in the interpretation of assessment results. Specifically, we recommend that literacy and educational attainment be taken into consideration when interpreting scores on screening measures. When a cognitive screen results in suspected cognitive decline, further assessment will be necessary including using collateral contacts. Lastly, the MMSE may be useful in terms of establishing baseline cognitive performance and may be used to track cognitive decline over time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Administrative Faculty, Department of Psychology MS0296, University of Nevada, 89557, Reno, NV, USA

    Lorraine T. Benuto PhD & Cyndy G. Soto BA

  2. Northcentral University, Core Faculty in the Graduate School, 10000 E University Drive, 86314, Prescott Valley, AZ, USA

    Lorraine T. Benuto PhD & Brian D. Leany PhD

  3. Lake’s Crossing Center: Maximum Security Facility for Forensic Mental Health Services, 500 Galletti Way, Sparks, NV, 89504, USA

    Brian D. Leany PhD

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  1. Lorraine T. Benuto PhD
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  2. Cyndy G. Soto BA
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  3. Brian D. Leany PhD
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Correspondence to Lorraine T. Benuto PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Lorraine T. Benuto

  2. California Dept of Corrections and Rehab High Desert State Prison, California Correctional Health Care Serv, Susanville, California, USA

    Brian D. Leany

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Benuto, L., Soto, C., Leany, B. (2015). Screening for Cognitive Decline and Assessment of Dementia with African Americans. In: Benuto, L., Leany, B. (eds) Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1004-5_15

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