A Preliminary standardisation of the Winsconsin Card Sorting Test for Setswana speaking university students

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