To fully understand the differences present between various ethnic and racial groups, there must be an understanding of the heterogeneity that is represented within a given ethnic/racial group. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of an individual differences approach in studying the ethnic diversity of an aging population. Conceptual, methodological, and design issues are discussed with the goal of better understanding the developmental processes of aging minority elderly populations.

Results from previous research on everyday problem solving involving Caucasians suggests that it may be a useful concept in studying cognitive aging in African Americans. The purpose of this investigation was to examine: (1) the factor structure of an everyday problem solving in a sample of African Americans, (2) the internal consistency of everyday-problem solving in a sample of African Americans, and (3) the relationship of problem solving to demographic factors, physical functioning, and measures of fluid ability. The sample included subjects recruited from Baltimore, MD. The sample consisted of 249 community dwelling African-American adults with a mean age of 67.8 years (SD = 8.47). Variables included the Everyday Problem Solving Test (EPT), gender, age, education, physical functioning, and inductive reasoning. Everyday problem solving as a latent construct was confirmed and the split half reliability was high (.89). As in previous research, inductive reasoning and physical functioning were related to everyday problem solving abilities. We also found that certain domains of the EPT are more influenced by demographic factors than others. Our finding suggest that the Everyday Problems Test is appropriate for use with African American samples.