Abstract:
Psychological and neuropsychological assessment in South Africa currently faces
various challenges, among which, is the prominent need for tests that are standardised for the
multi-cultural South African context. The absence of adequate standardisations and
normative data currently hamper the confidence with which tests can be used in South Africa.
This research project aimed to construct a preliminary standardisation of the Wisconsin Card
Sorting Test (WCST) for Setswana-speaking university students. The testing instructions
were translated to Setswana and 93 participants were assessed using a computerised version
of the WCST. Hypothesis tests showed that some sub-scores significantly differed from the
US norms and others did not. The distribution ofWCST performance in the study population
does, therefore, not follow the same distribution as the US distribution and a need was
identified to construct new normative data.
Regression analysis indicated that not gender, age, or level of education influenced
participants' WCST scores for all sub-scores, with the exception of the Trials to complete
first category score that was influenced by age. One normative table was thus constructed for
the entire 18- to 29-year-old age group for the variables Number of categories completed,
Total number of correct responses, Total number of errors, Perseverative responses,
Perseverative errors, Non-perseverative errors, Failure to maintain set, Learning to learn
and Percent conceptual level responses, whilst separate norm tables for the 18- to 19-year-old
and 20- to 29-year-old age groups were constructed for the Trials to complete first category
sub-score.
Furthermore, the WCST displayed adequate internal consistency in the study
population.
These norms and psychometric properties are, however, subject to certain
limitations and it is thus recommended that a full standardisation of the WeST be constructed
