Construct validation of the Hand Test Withdrawal score on institutionalized older adults

The Hand Test Withdrawal score was correlated with an independent criterion measure of general intactness, the Mental Status Questionnaire, for a sample of 57 "normal," institutionalized, elderly (M age = 77.26 yr.) to establish the construct validity of the Withdrawal score for older adults. A Pearson r of .43 (p < .001) was obtained, suggesting that the Withdrawal score is a valid measure of mental status or general intactness for institutionalized older adults.