Abstract
The Repeatable Battery Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) is a neuropsychological screener developed by Christopher Randolph (Randolph, 1998). It measures attention, language, immediate and delayed memory, and visuospatial/constructional abilities. The majority of participants included in the original normative sample were Caucasian individuals. Asian Americans were not included in the original normative sample. With the rise in Asian individuals immigrating to the U.S., particularly California, it is necessary to take their culture, language, and other factors (e.g., acculturation level) into consideration when interpreting neuropsychological scores. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of the RBANS in measuring Asian Americans' neurocognitive abilities as well as examining the effects acculturation level has on neurocognitive scores. One hundred and sixteen participants were administered the RBANS. The results revealed the RBANS does not accurately reflect Asian American's neurocognitive ability regardless of acculturation level. Additionally, when demographic variables were accounted for, gender was the only variable that predicted Total Score outcome. This study indicates that acculturation level is an important factor to be aware of when making inferences about the neurocognitive abilities of Asian American clients. Furthermore, the current study supports previous literature, that gender is a variable that can influence overall neuropsychological scores. Thus, this study suggests that caution should be used when administering the RBANS to Asian American clients, as there are limitations that need to be taken into consideration.