ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY OF A NOVEL SCORING METHOD FOR TRAIL MAKING PART B: APPLICATION TO REAL-WORLD DRIVING SKILL

The cognitive skills needed to successfully complete Trail Making Test Part B (TMT-B) may also be important for driving. The standard cut-off time of 300s for TMT-B limits clinical assessment and research analysis and creates a spuriously restricted range. The purpose of this study was to apply the TMT-B Efficiency Score (TMT-Be), which increases variability among those unable to complete the task in 300s, to a sample of older adults who also completed an on-the-road driving evaluation. Data were obtained from N=146 cognitively impaired and cognitively intact individuals in the Providence, Rhode Island area as part of a larger driving study. Of those with complete data (n=114), most (96.5%) were White, the average age was 74.9 years (SD=7.20), and most were female (58.8%). The correlation between TMT-B total time in seconds and global driving rating was significant, and as the time to completion increased (worse performance), worse driving scores were obtained (rs=0.456, p