Clock Drawing Test Performance of Young Adults Based on a One-Shot Case Study

The clock drawing test (CDT) is being used regularly by medical professionals in a variety of settings to aid in assessing cognitive functioning in adults of all ages. As our technological environment has changed significantly, because of the inception of this measure, the use of and exposure to the analog clock have diminished. We investigated whether young adults, who have grown up in a mainly digital world, can draw and tell time on an analog clock.

Participants aged 18-30 years (N = 80, Mage = 24.2, SD = 3.93), who self-identified as having normal cognition, completed the CDT, as well as setting hands on a pre-drawn clock and identifying analog clock times.

About 25% of participants received a CDT score below the expected range. There was a moderate, positive correlation between analog clock hand setting and time identification in the group who scored below the expected range on the CDT only (rs(16) = 0.472, p = .048). Most participants reported not wearing an analog watch.

Based on these findings, the CDT should be used with caution to screen cognitive functioning in young adults (i.e., aged 18-30 years). Consideration of an alternative approach to screening cognition and modifying cognitive assessments in which the CDT is embedded is recommended for this population. These findings warrant further investigation into CDT performance in the young adult population.