Harmonizing Measures of Cognitive Performance Across International Surveys of Aging Using Item Response Theory.

OBJECTIVE: To harmonize measures of cognitive performance using item response theory (IRT) across two international aging studies.

METHOD: Data for persons ≥65 years from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 9,471) and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA, N = 5,444). Cognitive performance measures varied (HRS fielded 25, ELSA 13); 9 were in common. Measurement precision was examined for IRT scores based on (a) common items, (b) common items adjusted for differential item functioning (DIF), and (c) DIF-adjusted all items.

RESULTS: Three common items (day of date, immediate word recall, and delayed word recall) demonstrated DIF by survey. Adding survey-specific items improved precision but mainly for HRS respondents at lower cognitive levels.

DISCUSSION: IRT offers a feasible strategy for harmonizing cognitive performance measures across other surveys and for other multi-item constructs of interest in studies of aging. Practical implications depend on sample distribution and the difficulty mix of in-common and survey-specific items.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26526748?dopt=Abstract

ELSA_/item response theory/cognitive performance/Public Policy/Cognitive ability/Aging/cross-national comparison

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