The Psychometric Properties of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): A Comprehensive Investigation

Abstract

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a test assessing global cognition in older adults which is often used by researchers and clinicians worldwide, although some of its psychometric properties have yet to be established. We focus on three fundamental aspects: the factorial structure of the MoCA, its general factor saturation, and the measurement invariance of the test. We administered the MoCA to a large sample of Japanese older adults clustered in three cohorts (69 71-year-olds, 79 81-year-olds, and 89 91-year-olds; N = 2,408). Our results show that the test has an overall stable hierarchical factorial structure with a general factor at its apex and satisfactory general-factor saturation. We also found measurement invariance across participants of different ages, educational levels, economic status, and sex. This comprehensive investigation thus supports the idea that the MoCA is a valid tool to assess global cognition in older adults of different socioeconomic status and age ranges.