Are Trail Making and Color Trails Tests of equivalent constructs?

Abstract

The Color Trails Test (CTT) was developed as a culturally fair analogue of the Trail Making Test (TMT). This study examined the equivalence of these two tests for Chinese individuals in Hong Kong. One hundred and eight Chinese people volunteered for this study, and were classified into four groups according to their age and level of education. Their performance on these two tests was compared. The findings suggested that age and level of education indeed played significant roles in their performance on these two tests. Strong correlations (r = 0.72) were only observed between scores on Part B of the TMT and Part 2 of the CTT when the participants were older and had higher levels of education. This suggests that the equivalent construct of the Trail Making and Color Trails Tests can only be examined and established within specific age and education parameters.