The Victoria Stroop Test: Normative Data in Quebec-French Adults and Elderly

Marie-Pier Tremblay; Olivier Potvin; Sylvie Belleville; Nathalie Bier; Lise Gagnon; Sophie Blanchet; Nélia-Sofia Domingues; Geneviève Gaudreau; Joël Macoir; Carol Hudon

doi:10.1093/arclin/acw029

The Victoria Stroop Test: Normative Data in Quebec-French Adults and Elderly

Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2016 Dec 1;31(8):926-933. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acw029.

Authors

Marie-Pier Tremblay^{1

2}, Olivier Potvin², Sylvie Belleville^{3

4}, Nathalie Bier³, Lise Gagnon⁵, Sophie Blanchet¹, Nélia-Sofia Domingues^{1

2}, Geneviève Gaudreau^{1

2}, Joël Macoir^{2

6}, Carol Hudon^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ École de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
² Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada.
³ Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁵ Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Département de réadaptation, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.

Abstract

Objective: Despite the widespread use of the Victoria Stroop Test (VST; Regard, 1981) in clinical and research settings, information regarding the impact of sociodemographic variables on test performance in Quebec-French adults and elderly people is still nonexistent. Thus, this study aimed to establish normative data for error scores and completion time on all test trials (Dot, Word, and Interference) taking into account the impact of age, education, and sex on test performance.

Method: The sample consisted of 646 community-dwelling and healthy Quebec-French individuals aged between 47 and 87 years.

Results: Regression analyses indicated that age was associated with completion time and error scores on all trials. The association was also positive for low and high interference conditions. Education was associated with completion time on Word and Interference trials, and with both interference scores. Finally, sex was associated with completion time on all trials, with women being consistently faster than men. Equations to calculate Z scores and percentiles are presented.

Conclusions: Norms for the VST will ease interpretation of executive functioning in Quebec-French adults and elderly and favor accurate discrimination between normal and pathological cognitive states.

Keywords: Attention; Executive functions; Norms/normative studies; Quebec-French.