creator Piper, Lauren E. advisor Lee, Eun-Jeong Cognitive impairment is documented in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). Studies investigating cognitive impairment in this population have primarily examined group differences in neuropsychological performance, which may have overlooked the heterogeneity of cognitive functioning. The objectives of this study were to determine whether distinct cognitive profiles occur in individuals with SCD and, if so, to examine potential differences in demographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics. Participants with SCD (n = 73) and similarly matched controls (n = 82), completed a brief neuropsychological protocol (Hachinski et al., 2006) and self-report measures of pain and mood-related symptoms. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of participants based on their cumulative scores across the domains of executive functioning, language, memory, and visuospatial ability. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the cluster groups across the four cognitive domains. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests were used to compare cluster groups on demographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics. Results indicated three distinct cognitive subtypes: (1) executive and memory impaired (56% of participants); (2) globally impaired (14%); and (3) cognitively intact (30%). The three cluster groups did not differ on most demographic factors, stroke history, or pain severity, but differed on level of education and current mood-related distress. Results demonstrated the presence of distinct cognitive profiles in adults with SCD, with a proportion of cognitively intact individuals. Implications for intervention and cognitive rehabilitation are discussed. Submitted by Erma Thomas (thomase@iit.edu) on 2015-07-13T19:36:57Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Master's Thesis Final Draft 11-20-14.pdf: 632399 bytes, checksum: 5fd6bda5c5f94dbb5128712ec5929b2d (MD5) Lauren Piper's Title page.pdf: 21136 bytes, checksum: f495508c6243a95fe462e6f6f5a1d1c7 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-13T19:36:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Master's Thesis Final Draft 11-20-14.pdf: 632399 bytes, checksum: 5fd6bda5c5f94dbb5128712ec5929b2d (MD5) Lauren Piper's Title page.pdf: 21136 bytes, checksum: f495508c6243a95fe462e6f6f5a1d1c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12 M.S. in Psychology, December 2014 2014 2014-12 http://hdl.handle.net/10560/3444 en Thesis born digital application/pdf In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/ Restricted Access PSYCH / Institute of Psychology Illinois Institute of Technology Affiliated department