The Influence of Age and Education on Neuropsychological Performances of Persons With Mild Head Injuries

Recent reports in the literature have explored differential relations between age and education and psychological test results in groups with brain damage and groups without brain damage. In several investigations, both adults and children have been studied, using Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale values and subtest scores as welt as tests that are particularly sensitive to brain damage. The findings have consistently indicated that the relations between age and education and test scores are diminished or essentially absent among groups with brain damage and groups with learning disabilities, even though a strong relation (especially for education) emerged among the control groups. In this study we examined the relations between age and education and the General Neuropsychological Deficit Scale (Reitan & Wolfson, 1988) for groups with mild head injury and found that the attribute variables had minimal correlations, similar to the correlations found with participants who have sustained frank traumatic cerebral tissue damage. The results raise serious questions about the validity of adjusting neuropsychological or intellectual test scores for participants with brain damage using results for normal participants when the rational bases for making such adjustments are limited or absent.