Factorial invariance for combined Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised scores in a sample of clients with alcohol dependency.

This study examined the joint factor structure of the WAIS-R and WMS-R in a sample of 289 participants (mostly males) with alcohol dependency. In a confirmatory phase we contrasted a range of factor models derived from previous analyses of the Wechsler scales. The best fitting model incorporated five factors representing Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Attention-Concentration, Verbal Memory, and Visual Memory, with reassignment of factor loadings for two subtests. The invariance of the measurement model was then examined comparing data from a large sample of healthy participants (J. R. Carstairs & E. A. Shores, 1999). The results indicated that the number of factors was invariant across samples, and four of the factors satisfied the criterion of partial measurement invariance.

Delayed matching to sample and concurrent learning in nonamnesic humans with alcohol dependence.

Small samples of alcohol-dependent subjects who showed no clinical signs of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome were compared with nonalcohol-dependent controls on two animal memory tests which are performed poorly by human amnesics. Compared to the control subjects, the alcohol-dependent subjects' performance was impaired on a version of the delayed matching to sample task. On concurrent discrimination learning the overall group difference just failed to reach significance. The results are interpreted as suggesting that behavioural impairment may occur in alcohol-dependent subjects who are not clinically amnesic, and that the impairment is similar in type to that observed in cases of severe Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.