Supplementary WMS-III tables for determining primary subtest strengths and weaknesses

It is common practice to evaluate the age-adjusted subtest scores from the Wechsler intelligence scales to determine strengths and weaknesses within a profile. The Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997a) represents a significant improvement over its predecessors and, for the first time, provides age-adjusted subtest scores for interpretation, just as the Wechsler intelligence scales have done for 60 years. It is reasonable to assume that examiners will evaluate the WMS-III subtest profiles for strengths and weaknesses. However, the WMS-III Administration and Scoring Manual and the WAIS-III-WMS-III Technical Manual (The Psychological Corporation, 1997) provide no assistance for accomplishing this goal. Data from the WMS-III standardization sample, as described in the WAIS-III-WMS-III Technical Manual, were used to develop tables for determining both confidence levels and infrequency of differences between individual subtest scores and the means of 5 subtest combinations that may be clinically relevant for individual cases.     

Age-related invariance of abilities measured with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--III

Examination of measurement invariance tests the assumption that the model underlying a set of test scores is directly comparable across groups. The observation of measurement invariance provides fundamental evidence for the inference that scores on a test afford equivalent measurement of the same psychological traits among diverse groups. Groups may be derived from different psychosocial backgrounds or different clinical presentations. In the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III)/Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III) Technical Manual (Psychological Corporation, 2002), there appears to be a breakdown in factor structure among the standardization cases in older adults. In this study, the authors evaluated the invariance of the measurement model of the WAIS-III across 5 age bands. All components of the measurement model were examined. Overall, the evidence pointed to invariance across age of a modified 4-factor model that included cross-loadings for the Similarities and Arithmetic subtests. These results support the utility of the WAIS-III as a measure of stable intelligence traits across a wide age range.     

Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Fourth Edition among a national sample of referred students

The structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; D. Wechsler, 2003a) was analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis among a national sample of 355 students referred for psychoeducational evaluation by 93 school psychologists from 35 states. The structure of the WISC-IV core battery was best represented by four first-order factors as per D. Wechsler (2003b), plus a general intelligence factor in a direct hierarchical model. The general factor was the predominate source of variation among WISC-IV subtests, accounting for 48% of the total variance and 75% of the common variance. The largest 1st-order factor, Processing Speed, only accounted for 6.1% total and 9.5% common variance. Given these explanatory contributions, recommendations favoring interpretation of the 1st-order factor scores over the general intelligence score appear to be misguided.     

Differential construct validity of intelligence as popularly measured: Correlations of age with raw scores on the WISC-R for Blacks Whites, males, and females

Raw scores on the 12 WISC-R subtests and the verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scales were correlated with age in years separately for 938 White males, 137 Black males, 927 White females, and 153 Black females. Highest and lowest correlations from the four groups were then contrasted for each of the 15 WISC-R variables to determine whether the magnitude of the relationship between age and performance on current tests of intelligence is constant across race and sex. Regression coefficients between age and raw scores were also contrasted across groups. None of the 15 comparisons of corrections yielded differences that were statistically significant. Regression coefficients differed only with respect to the Full Scale IQ, showing smaller incremental changes with age for Black males than for other groups. The results indicated that the relationship between age and intelligence test performance is relatively constant across race and sex and supports the construct validity of the WISC-R as a measure of children's intelligence for Blacks, Whites, males, and females, though some evidence was found to indicate slower development of “g” in Black males as compared to the other groups.     

Education-stratified base-rate information on discrepancy scores within and between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale--Third Edition

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition (WAIS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997a) and the Wechsler Memory Scale--Third Edition (WMS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997b) are 2 of the most frequently used measures in psychology and neuropsychology. To facilitate the diagnostic use of these measures in the clinical decision-making process, this article provides information on education-stratified, directional prevalence rates (i.e., base rates) of discrepancy scores between the major index scores for the WAIS-III, the WMS-III, and between the WAIS-III and WMS-III. To illustrate how such base-rate data can be clinically used, this article reviews the relative risk (i.e., odds ratio) of empirically defined "rare" cognitive deficits in 2 of the clinical samples presented in the WAIS-III--WMS-III Technical Manual (The Psychological Corporation, 1997).     

Quelques réflexions sur l'évaluation de l'intelligence générale : un retour à Binet ?

At this centennial of the Binet-Simon test (1905), the edition of the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2005) raises some questions about general intelligence. After outlining the different approaches of its evaluation, especially global versus factorial approaches, and its evolution, the objective is to show how that contributes to understand the changes presented in the WISC-IV. The scale is built on four factorial homogeneous indices corresponding to dimensions which are the most studied today: fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, working memory and fast processing abilities. Nevertheless, this multidimensionality is accompanied by certain redundancies and the reduction of some aspects, especially knowledge, visual-spatial intelligence and social intelligence. In conclusion, some fundamental principles are noted, which were defined by Binet, yielding a “flash-back to the source”.     

Timing and force control in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: subtype differences and the effect of comorbid developmental coordination disorder

This study examined the motor and performance outcomes of boys with subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (DSM-IV, [American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed., Washington, DC, 1994]). It also examined the differences between boys with a single diagnosis of ADHD versus those who have the dual categorisation of ADHD and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The participants were 157 boys, aged 7.70-12.98 years recruited from a community sample. Parent report was used to classify 143 boys into either a comparison group or one of the three DSM-IV ADHD subtypes. Participants were given a battery of tests that included the Movement Assessment Battery for Children [Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Psychological Corporation/Harcourt Brace-Jovanovich, New York, 1992], the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children--Third Edition [Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Psychological Corporation, New York, 1992] and a finger tapping task targeting motor processing, preparation, and execution. Boys with subtypes that included inattentive symptomatology had significant difficulties with timing, force output and showed greater variability in motor outcomes. Boys with the comorbid condition (i.e., ADHD and DCD) had particular difficulty with force control. These outcomes identify a need for increased recognition of the clinical and research implications of the relationship between ADHD and motor dysfunction. This potentially impacts on assessment, intervention, theoretical modelling and the general interpretation of cognitive abilities research with children with ADHD.     

The effects of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition cognitive abilities on math achievement

This study used structural equation modeling to examine the effect of Stratum III (i.e., general intelligence) and Stratum II (i.e., Comprehension-Knowledge, Fluid Reasoning, Short-Term Memory, Processing Speed, and Visual Processing) factors of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cognitive abilities, as operationalized by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003a) subtests, on Quantitative Knowledge, as operationalized by the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition (WIAT-II; Wechsler, 2002) subtests. Participants came from the WISC-IV/WIAT-II linking sample (n=550). We compared models that predicted Quantitative Knowledge using only Stratum III factors, only Stratum II factors, and both Stratum III and Stratum II factors. Results indicated that the model with only the Stratum III factor predicting Quantitative Knowledge best fit the data.     

Common and specific dimensions of self-reported anxiety and depression: the BDI-II versus the BDI-IA

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) [Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A. & Brown, G. K. (1996). Manual for Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.] and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) [Beck, A. T. & Steer, R. A. (1993a). Manual for the Beck Anxiety Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.] were administered to 840 outpatients who were diagnosed with various types of psychiatric disorders to determine whether the general symptom compositions and relative amounts of variance of the common and specific dimensions of self-reported anxiety and depression for these instruments would be comparable to those that had been found by Steer et al. [Steer, R. A., Clark, D. A., Beck, A. T. & Ranieri, W. F. (1995). Common and specific dimensions of self-reported anxiety and depression: A replication. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 542–545.] with the BAI and amended Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-IA) [Beck, A. T. & Steer, R. A. (1993b). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.]. A Schmid–Leiman transformation was used with the iterated-principal-factor pattern matrix of the BAI and the BDI-II loadings and indicated that the overall symptom compositions and relative amounts of variance that were explained by the one common and two specific anxiety and depression dimensions were comparable to those previously found with the BDI-IA.     

WISC-IV and WISC-III profiles in children with ADHD

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd and 4th editions (WISC-III n = 586 and WISC-IV n = 118), profiles were compared for children with ADHD and normal intelligence. Mean Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Organization/Perceptual Reasoning Index (POI/PRI) scores were significantly higher than Freedom From Distractibility/Working Memory Index (FDI/WMI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI), and Symbol Search was higher than Coding. FDI/WMI and PSI scores were similar on both tests, but VCI and POI/PRI were higher on the WISC-IV than on the WISC-III. Therefore, index discrepancies were greater for the WISC-IV, suggesting that the WISC-IV might be better than the WISC-III in delineating the strengths and weaknesses of children with ADHD. All children in the WISC-IV sample scored lowest on WMI or PSI, whereas only 88% of the WISC-III children scored lowest on FDI or PSI. Thus, the WISC-IV may be more helpful in diagnosing ADHD than the WISC-III.     

A longitudinal study of motor ability and kinaesthetic acuity in young children at risk of developmental coordination disorder

Several studies have linked poor kinaesthetic ability with poor motor coordination in school-aged children. However, few studies have investigated kinaesthesis in younger children. The aim of this study was to determine if preschool aged children who have been identified as at risk of developing developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have poorer kinaesthetic ability than matched controls. Kinaesthetic ability and performance IQ were examined in a group of children aged between 4 and 5 years. Following individual assessment of 291 children, 31 were identified as at risk of DCD at this age. One year later, 30 of these children were retested, and 23 were still found to be at risk. These children were matched on verbal IQ, age and sex with control children and their performance compared on the kinaesthetic acuity test (KAT) [D.J. Livesey and N.A. Parkes, Aust. J. Psychol., 47 (1995) 160] and three subtests of the WPPSI-R performance IQ (D. Wechsler, Manual for the Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence--revised, Psychological Corporation, New York, 1989). Both the KAT and the performance subtest scores were found to be significantly poorer in the children at risk of DCD. Follow-up testing one year later showed that both groups improved their kinaesthetic acuity score although the control children remained significantly better than the children with poor motor coordination.     

Factorial similarity of the WISC-R for Anglos and Chicanos referred for psychological services

Two- and three-factor principal factor solutions to the WISC-R (Wechsler, 1974) were compared across race for referred Anglo and Chicano children. Additional comparisons of these factor solutions were made with those for normal Anglo, Chicano, Black, and Papago students (Reschly, 1978, Note 1) and the WISC-R standardization sample (Wechsler, 1974). Substantial congruence occurred across race for both the two- and three-factor solutions, though the two-factor solution was clearly most appropriate for the present sample.     

The WISC-III: A reality check

Although the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) is arguably the best instrument currently available for assessing students' intelligence, its use will present practitioners, especially school psychologists, with some unique challenges. Recent research suggests that significant reductions in special education students' WISC-III Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores will be found, compared with their previous WISC-R results. This finding will have a profound impact on special education placement decisions. Specifically, students who were previously found eligible for learning disability programs may now no longer evidence the significant discrepancies necessary in order to receive continued services. Conversely, students earlier identified as “slow learners” may now be eligible to receive services for those classified under the category of educably mentally handicapped. In addition, the notion that the WISC-III may underestimate the ability of certain populations of students requires further exploration. This article will address these issues as well as implications for practitioners presently administering the WISC-III.     

Report on Shanghai norms for the Chinese translation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised

The Chinese translation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-RC) was administered to 660 children (ages 6 through 16 yr.) in the city of Shanghai. The obtained norms represent children's intelligence levels in big cities where the economic and cultural development is advanced. The norms are reported as "Scaled Score Equivalents of Raw Scores" for each age group and as "IQ Equivalents of Sums of Scaled Scores." The reliability and validity of the norms indicate that the WISC-R is suitable for use with school-age children in China. The difference between the results for our Shanghai sample (WISC-RCs) and a USA sample (WISC-R) is also discussed.     

Interpreting the WISC-R subtest scores of reading impaired children—a structural approach

The problem of characterising more specifically the cognitive requirements involved in subtests from standardised measures of intelligence represents a main problem in the research on exceptional populations. A new way of classifying tests of mental abilities is presented. Rather than focusing on the content of a given test, the present classification system focuses on their structures. The classification system is applied to the WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, Wechsler, 1974). It will be used to interpret the IQ-profiles of a clinically defined sample of reading impaired children (N=82). The basic finding of the study is that the structural complexity of a subtest influences the tests results of reading impaired children. This influence is interpreted as a consequence of poor procedural knowledge; i.e., poor knowledge about how to organise complex sets of data. It is suggested that teaching of metacognitive strategies could be an aid for reading impaired children.     

The factorial similarity of the WISC-R performance Scale in deaf and hearing samples

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R) Performance Scale metrics and subtest factor loadings, derived separately from deaf (N = 1228) and hearing (N = 2200) samples, are practically identical. Small mean differences are probably attributable to the higher incidence of brain damage among deaf children. In addition to demonstrating the absence of construct bias in WISC-R Performance IQ (PIQ) measurement for deaf children, the results contradict theories which propose linguistic bias as the cause of the white-black difference in Performance IQ. Spearman's hypothesis that white-black mental test differences are primarily a difference in g received significant support. The results indicate that cognition, as measured by PIQ, is virtually independent of language acquisition.     

Comparison of the Token Test of Language Development and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised

Correlations were calculated between the Token Test of Language Development (Token) and scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R) based on responses from 38 Caucasian children (23 boys and 15 girls) of a semi-rural Northeastern Ohio school district. The relatively low Pearson correlations (.25 to .47) between the standard scores in the Token test and WISC-R IQs are discussed in relation to ability and achievement.     

Components of IQ Scores Across Levels of Measured Ability

Forty-three (43) students from the Talent Identification Program's Summer Residential Program living in North Carolina took the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) during the program. The test was also administered to 50 other North Carolina Students who qualified for the SRP but did not attend, as well as 34 students who had not been identified as gifted. The scores were evaluated for normative and idiographic strengths and weaknesses on the 12 subtests of the WISC-R. The idiographic differences were calculated by comparison against the average score of only the 6 subtests in the same subscale of the test (Verbal or Performance) as well as against all 12 subtests on the test. It was found by means of the former comparisons that the gifted students showed significantly more idiographic strengths on the Verbal scales and weaknesses on the Performance scales than the academically competent sample.     

Speed of information-processing in an inductive reasoning task and its relationship to psychometric intelligence

The relationship between psychometric intelligence (measured by means of Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and two verbal subtests of the “Intelligenz-Struktur-Test-70”) and speed of information-processing in a newly developed computerized reaction time (RT) task called the Concept-Verification-Test (CVT) was investigated in a sample of 104 undergraduates. In this CVT, first, one of five possible conceptual rules is presented on a computer monitor. After reading the rule, the subject has to press a button and then one of 27 possible simple geometrical figures is presented, which either is an example of the concept or not. The subject has to press the true button if the presented figure is a positive instance of the rule or the false button if it is not. Two RTs were measured: The Comprehension Reaction Time (CRT) from the onset of the rule to the first button press and the Verification Reaction Time (VRT) from the onset of the figure until the response is given. The different complexity of the conceptual rules used also allowed us to examine the “complexity hypothesis” (i.e. correlations with intelligence should be higher for more complex RT tasks). As predicted, both CRTs and VRTs correlated negatively with intelligence, but we found no evidence for the validity of the complexity hypothesis.     

Review, critique, and synthesis of personality theory in motivation to sexually assault

A widely-cited meta-analysis of recidivism amongst adult male perpetrators or sexual assult [Hanson and Bussiere, J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 66 (1998) 348–362] found that the presence of any personality disorder (APA, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-III-R. (1987); [APA, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV (1994)] was the only variable to significantly predict sexual recidivism in a category measuring “Psychological Maladjustment” (r₊=.16, n=315). The relationship between personality disturbance and new sexual offenses is undoubtedly a dynamic relationship that deserves exploration. This review and critique of theory covers two theories of personality: (1) a psychoanalytic theory of rapist personality offered by Groth [Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. (1979), New York: Plenum] and (2) a general biosocial theory or personality disturbance offered by Millon [Disorders of Personality: DSM-IV and Beyond. (1996). New York: Wiley]. Theory offered by Groth is critiqued and limitations considered. Theory offered by Millon is offered and the two approaches are synthesized to suggest possible causes of characteristic psychological disturbance associated with perpetration of sexual assault. Applications for research and practice are considered, and implications of this line of research for risk assessment and sexual assault prevention are reviewed.