The Influence of Processing Speed, Attention, and Inhibition on Texas Functional Living Scale Performance

OBJECTIVE: Attention, inhibition, and processing speed are related to functional decline among older adults. This study attempts to clarify the relationships between these cognitive factors and adaptive functioning. METHOD: We examined relationships between attention, inhibition, and processing speed, with scores on the Texas Functional Living Scale (TFLS), a performance-based measure of daily functioning, in a mixed clinical sample of 530 older adults who were referred for an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation. RESULTS: The current study used a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to derive a three-factor cognitive model consisting of attention, inhibition, and processing speed. Results from a hierarchical regression, which included factor scores from the CFA, revealed that processing speed was the only significant predictor of TFLS performance when all three cognitive factors were included within a single model. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the influence of processing speed as an important indicator of functional decline among a clinical population of older adults.