•  
  •  
 

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Abstract

Historically, Black Americans have consistently performed more poorly than White Americans on various neuropsychological tests, with debates surrounding the causes of these differences ranging from genetic to societal factors. These differences have been documented across various cognitive domains, including memory, attention, executive function, and processing speed. Findings from previous research suggest that individuals with higher levels of education and stable marital relationships tend to exhibit better cognitive functioning, while certain football positions are linked to differences in cognitive abilities. However, the specific effects of these factors on neuropsychological performance require further investigation. The present archival study was derived from a pre-existing database, and no tests were administered as a part of this study. The two main groups consisted of Black and White retired NFL athletes. Prior research has found that racial identity is a significant predictor of neuropsychological test performance on WAIS-IV Digit Span, Arithmetic, Letter Number Sequencing, Block Design, Visual Puzzles, and Similarities, and WMS-IV Verbal Paired Associates II and Visual Reproduction I (Bennett, 2018). The current study seeks to confirm and build upon these findings to investigate to what extent racial identity, educational level, marital status, and primary position explain variation in neuropsychological performance.

Download

Share

COinS