Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children, fifth edition, in Australian and New Zealand and U.S. standardization samples.

Measurement invariance underlies construct validity generalization in psychology and must be demonstrated prior to any cross-population comparison of means and validity correlations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) across Australia and New Zealand (A&NZ) versus the U.S. normative samples. The WISC-V is the most widely used assessment of intelligence in children. Participants were census matched, nationally representative samples from A&NZ (n = 528) and the United States (n = 2,200) who completed the WISC-V standardization version. Baseline model estimation was conducted to ensure the same model showed acceptable fit in both samples separately. Measurement invariance was then examined across A&NZ and United States. The five-factor scoring model described in the test manual showed excellent fit in both samples. Results showed that the WISC-V demonstrated strict metric measurement invariance across the A&NZ and U.S. samples. Further, the results were consistent with the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) framework of cognitive abilities, indicating the generalizability of cognitive abilities across cultures. Small but significant differences in visual spatial latent means were found across females, highlighting the importance of local normative data. These findings suggest that the WISC-V scores can be meaningfully compared across A&NZ and United States and that the constructs, which align with CHC theory, and associated construct validity research, generalize across countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Furthering the Understanding of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Factor Structure in a Clinical Sample.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is a commonly administered battery for assessing intellectual and cognitive abilities. Despite its popularity, construct validation studies primarily utilize the WAIS-IV normative sample rather than ecologically-valid clinical samples. The current study expands the literature on the validity of WAIS-IV by testing a bifactor model in such a sample. We examined archival data from 300 concurrent psychological evaluations performed at a university-based community clinic. Participants received the full WAIS-IV standard battery. Consistent with recent literature, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) favored a direct hierarchical model, where the g factor has a direct influence on WAIS-IV subtest performance and index scores explain only modest degrees of residual variance. Results challenge traditional intelligence nosologies and suggest consideration of a two-step method of WAIS-IV interpretation in clinical samples, whereby the Full Scale IQ score (FSIQ) score is examined first and individual subtest scores are analyzed second.

Performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) in Japanese patients with bipolar and major depressive disorders in euthymic and depressed states.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the cognitive performance of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) stratified by illness phase compared to that of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls. METHODS: Participants were 139 patients with BD (55 euthymic and 84 depressed), 311 patients with MDD (88 euthymic and 223 depressed), and 386 healthy controls who underwent the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised or the Third Edition. They were non-elderly Japanese individuals with normal estimated premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ; >90), group-matched for age, sex, and premorbid IQ. RESULTS: The depressed BD group showed significantly lower scores on verbal IQ, performance IQ, full-scale IQ, and three group indexes of perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed when compared with healthy controls (all P < 0.001). All IQs and working memory index were also significantly lower than those of the depressed MDD group. The depressed MDD group scored significantly lower than controls in performance IQ (P < 0.001), full-scale IQ, and only in the index of processing speed (P < 0.001). The euthymic BD group scored significantly lower than controls in performance IQ (P = 0.004), whereas the euthymic MDD group scored significantly lower than controls only in processing speed (P = 0.030). CONCLUSION: Patients with BD appear to have global and more intense cognitive impairments in depressed states compared with those with MDD whose impairments seem to be apparent only in processing speed in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Attenuated impairments appear to exist in euthymic states of both patients.

Not so fast! Limitations of processing speed and working memory indices as embedded performance validity tests in a mixed neuropsychiatric sample.

INTRODUCTION: Validity indicators embedded within standard neuropsychological tests have received increasing attention as more efficient measures for sampling performance validity throughout an evaluation. This cross-sectional study examined multiple performance validity tests (PVTs) embedded in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) Working Memory (WMI) and Processing Speed (PSI) Indices for detecting invalid test performance. METHOD: This cross-sectional study examined data from a mixed clinical neuropsychiatric sample of 110 patients referred for outpatient evaluation. The sample was composed of 85 patients with valid neuropsychological performance and 25 with invalid performance based on multiple independent criterion PVTs. Among the patients with valid performance, 54% were cognitively impaired, whereas 46% were cognitively unimpaired. RESULTS: Among the overall sample, performance on WMI, PSI, and 3/4 constituent subtests (i.e., Digit Span, Symbol Search, Coding) was significantly worse among the invalid group compared to the valid group (ηp2 =.06-.16) with areas under the curve (AUCs) of.67-.76 and 24-32% sensitivity (≥88% specificity) for identifying invalid performance at cut-scores that maximized accuracy. When the sample was subdivided by cognitive impairment status, AUCs of.68-.87 and 36-56% sensitivity (≥87% specificity) for detecting invalidity at cut-scores that maximized accuracy were found among those without cognitive impairment. In contrast, for patients with cognitive impairment, Digit Span, Arithmetic, WMI, and Coding were nonsignificant, and AUCs of.66-.67. Further, notably reduced sensitivities of 16-28% (≥91% specificity) were found for the remaining significant indices. CONCLUSION: Overall, results indicated that embedded WAIS-IV WMI and PSI are useful embedded PVTs in conditions in which cognitive impairment is not expected; however, these embedded PVTs demonstrated questionable utility among patients with cognitive impairment due to poor sensitivity, if adequate specificity is maintained, suggesting limited efficacy among patients with cognitive impairment due to risk of false-positive classification.

Discrepancies in Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale III profile in adult with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

AIM: The Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale (WAIS) is the most frequently administered cognitive assessment for adult Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); therefore, identifying discrepancies in WAIS profile in patients and comparing with matched controls would be clinically and diagnostically beneficial. METHODS: The WAIS-III profiles of 50 adults with ADHD were compared to an age-matched typical development (TD) group. RESULTS: The adult ADHD group exhibited significantly lower WAIS-III working memory (WM) and processing speed (PS) indices. However, these differences disappeared when intelligence quotient (IQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score, or Autism Quotient (AQ) score was included as a covariate. The adult ADHD group also demonstrated significantly lower scores in several WM- and PS-domain subscales, while crystallized abilities were comparatively preserved. Additionally, only a small portion of participants in both groups lacked any significant gaps between WAIS-III verbal and performance IQ scores (VIQ-PIQ) or associated indices. DISCUSSION: This study confirms previous findings that adult ADHD patients have deficits in WM and PS. However, it is highly likely that comorbidities such as depression and autism spectrum disorder contribute to lower WM and PS scores in adult ADHD. Unexpectedly, a "flat profile" is uncommon even in TD adults. Therefore, clinician should assess how WAIS deficits affect daily life rather than merely considering an uneven WAIS profile when diagnosing and treating adult ADHD.

Measuring reliable change in traumatic brain injury (TBI): The pitfalls of using readily available formulae.

Individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently undergo repeat neuropsychological assessments. Reliable change (RC) methodologies based on general population normative data are often used to assess for clinically significant change. The consequence of applying such methodologies to an individual with a TBI needs investigation. The current study tested the validity of readily available formulae in moderate to severe TBI participants who were >2 years postinjury. Participants were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV/Wechsler Memory Scale-IV (WAIS/WMS-IV) battery on two occasions across an approximate 1 year interval. Index scores were entered into 10 RC formulae to assess their validity in individuals with a TBI. Findings revealed that the formulae used in the study are relatively interchangeable in regards to WAIS-IV assessment, but that many of the formulae identified statistically unexpected rates of RC change in memory tasks assessed by the WMS-IV. Two formulae that did not contain statistical manipulations for practice effects performed relatively well in regards to memory assessment. Therefore, indiscriminate use of RC formulae could lead to over identifying memory decline in the TBI populations. The results suggest that either Iverson or Jacobson and Truax formulae can be used to assess RC for memory in moderate to severe TBI populations.

Construct Validity of the WISC-V in Clinical Cases: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the 10 Primary Subtests.

Independent exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) research with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) standardization sample has failed to provide support for the five group factors proposed by the publisher, but there have been no independent examinations of the WISC-V structure among clinical samples. The present study examined the latent structure of the 10 WISC-V primary subtests with a large (N = 2,512), bifurcated clinical sample (EFA, n = 1,256; CFA, n = 1,256). EFA did not support five factors as there were no salient subtest factor pattern coefficients on the fifth extracted factor. EFA indicated a four-factor model resembling the WISC-IV with a dominant general factor. A bifactor model with four group factors was supported by CFA as suggested by EFA. Variance estimates from both EFA and CFA found that the general intelligence factor dominated subtest variance and omega-hierarchical coefficients supported interpretation of the general intelligence factor. In both EFA and CFA, group factors explained small portions of common variance and produced low omega-hierarchical subscale coefficients, indicating that the group factors were of poor interpretive value.

Evaluation of the prognostic factors in school age children who experienced neonatal seizures.

BACKGROUND: This prospective study aimed to evaluate long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes and risk factors of the previously reported cohort, at their school age. METHOD: We included neonates whose seizures were directly observed by the child neurologist or neonatologist based on clinical observations. They were assessed for cognitive and neurological outcomes at the age of 9-11 years. The test battery included a neurological examination, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) test, and patients with the diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) were graded according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The primary outcome of this study was to determine risk factors for the long-term prognosis of neonatal seizures. RESULTS: For the long-term follow-up, 97 out of 112 patients of the initial cohort were available (86.6%). We found that 40 patients (41%) have the normal prognosis, 22 patients (22.7%) have the diagnosis of CP, and 30 patients (30.9%) were diagnosed as having epilepsy. Twelve out of 22 patients with CP had the diagnosis of epilepsy. The WISC-R full-scale IQ scores were <55 points in 27 patients (27.8%) and were >85 points in 40 patients (41.2%). According to GMFCS, 10 patients were classified as levels 1-2, and 12 patients were classified as levels 3-5. In multivariate regression analyses, 5-min APGAR score <6 was found to be an independent risk factor for CP, and 5-min APGAR score <6 and neonatal status epilepticus were independent risk factors for epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective cohort study reveals that abnormal school age outcome after neonatal seizures are significantly related to 5-min APGAR score <6 and neonatal status epilepticus.

Word-reading ability as a "hold test" in cognitively normal young adults with history of concussion and repetitive head impact exposure: A CARE Consortium Study.

Objective: Neuropsychological evaluations include hold tests like word-reading ability as estimates of premorbid intellect thought to be resilient to the effects of neurologic insult. We tested the alternative hypothesis that exposure to concussion or repetitive subclinical head impacts throughout early life may stunt acquisition of word-reading skills.Method: Data were obtained from student-athletes within the CARE Consortium that completed the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR). Measures of head trauma burden included self-reported concussion history and cumulative years of exposure to collision sports. We evaluated the effects of head trauma, sociodemographic (race, SES), and academic (SAT/ACT scores, learning disorder) variables on WTAR standard score using linear regression. Analyses were repeated in a football-only subsample estimating age of first exposure to football as a predictor.Results: We analyzed data from 6,598 participants (72.2% white, 39.6% female, mean ± SD age = 18.8 ± 1.2 years). Head trauma variables collectively explained 0.1% of the variance in WTAR standard scores, with years of collision sport exposure weakly predicting lower WTAR standard scores (ß = .026-.035, very small effect). In contrast, sociodemographic and academic variables collectively explained 20.9-22.5% of WTAR standard score variance, with strongest effects noted for SAT/ACT scores (ß = .313-.337, medium effect), LD diagnosis (ß = -.115 to -.131, small effect), and SES (ß = .101-.108, small effect). Age of first exposure to football did not affect WTAR scores in a football-only sample.Conclusion: Wechsler Test of Adult Reading performance appears unrelated to history of self-reported concussion(s) and/or repetitive subclinical head trauma exposure in current collegiate athletes. Sociodemographic and academic variables should be incorporated in test score interpretations for diverse populations like athletes.

Stronger Together: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition as a Multivariate Performance Validity Test in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the classification accuracy of a multivariate model of performance validity assessment using embedded validity indicators (EVIs) within the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). METHOD: Archival data were collected from 100 adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) consecutively referred for neuropsychological assessment in a clinical setting. The classification accuracy of previously published individual EVIs nested within the WAIS-IV and a composite measure based on six independent EVIs were evaluated against psychometrically defined non-credible performance. RESULTS: Univariate validity cutoffs based on age-corrected scaled scores on Coding, Symbol Search, Digit Span, Letter-Number-Sequencing, Vocabulary minus Digit Span, and Coding minus Symbol Search were strong predictors of psychometrically defined non-credible responding. Failing ≥3 of these six EVIs at the liberal cutoff improved specificity (.91-.95) over univariate cutoffs (.78-.93). Conversely, failing ≥2 EVIs at the more conservative cutoff increased and stabilized sensitivity (.43-.67) compared to univariate cutoffs (.11-.63) while maintaining consistently high specificity (.93-.95). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to being a widely used test of cognitive functioning, the WAIS-IV can also function as a measure of performance validity. Consistent with previous research, combining information from multiple EVIs enhanced the classification accuracy of individual cutoffs and provided more stable parameter estimates. If the current findings are replicated in larger, diagnostically and demographically heterogeneous samples, the WAIS-IV has the potential to become a powerful multivariate model of performance validity assessment. BRIEF SUMMARY: Using a combination of multiple performance validity indicators embedded within the subtests of theWechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the credibility of the response set can be establishedwith a high level of confidence. Multivariatemodels improve classification accuracy over individual tests. Relying on existing test data is a cost-effective approach to performance validity assessment.

Wechsler adult intelligence scale-4th edition digit span performance in subjective cognitive complaints, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and probable dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Objective: The Digit Span (DS) subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-4th Edition (WAIS-IV) was updated to better measure working memory which is potentially clinically relevant as prior unreplicated studies showed that sequencing tasks differentiated normal from neurologic groups. This study examines performance on DS for individuals from a memory disorder clinic diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), probable dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), or those with subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). Method: Seven hundred and six individuals were drawn from 1256 consecutive referrals who underwent a standard neuropsychological evaluation and obtained a consensus diagnosis from a neuropsychologist and a neurologist of DAT, aMCI, or having SCC. This resulted in a sample of 290 individuals with DAT, 255 with aMCI, and 161 with SCC. Results: Those with DAT performed significantly worse for DS Forward, Backward, and Total Score versus those with aMCI and SCC, whose performances were similar. Digit Span Sequencing was significantly different in each group (DAT < aMCI < SCC), with a high rate of the DAT group showing cross-task perseveration. Conclusions: The DS sequencing results differed between the three clinical groups, which is consistent with the hypothesis that working memory declines would be evident on this measure. Discontinuation of DSS due to cross-task perseveration was frequently seen in, although not unique to, the DAT group. Both poorer DSS performance and the presence of perseveration can offer useful clinical information on the context of a thorough evaluation of the aMCI/DAT spectrum.

[Discriminative Validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - IV (WIS) in a Social-Pediatric Sample]. / Diskriminative Validität der Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children ­ IV (WISC-IV) in einer sozialpädiatrischen Stichprobe.

Discriminative Validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - IV (WIS) in a Social-Pediatric Sample This study presents data on the discriminative validity of the Wechsler Scale of Intelligence for Children - IV (WIS) for clinical diagnoses, different types of schooling, and variables related to migration. The sample comprises 631 children aged 6 to 13 who were tested with the WIS core tests in German centers of social pediatrics (Sozialpädiatrische Zentren) which offer interdisciplinary assessment and intervention for children and youth with developmental disorders, disabilities, and psychological problems. Large effects were found for clinical diagnoses and types of schooling that are related to intellectual abilities: Children with intellectual developmental disorders and pupils of special schools for children with intellectual disability obtained low or very low IQ-scores. Children with migration background scored relatively lower only on the Verbal Comprehension Index.

Relationship between the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale IV in adults with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of intellectual disability (ID) are based on three criteria: significant impairments in intellectual functioning, concurrent deficits in adaptive behaviour, and both being acquired in the developmental period. Adaptive behaviour was formally incorporated into the diagnosis in 1959; the rationale being that IQ and adaptive behaviour were different constructs that independently contribute to the diagnosis. However, there are limited data on the relationship between IQ and adaptive behaviour and especially so for adults who have ID. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship on two widely used assessment tools: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - fourth edition (WAIS-IV) and the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS). METHOD: Data were extracted from the case files of 147 adults who had a formal diagnosis of ID based on the WAIS-IV and VABS. Internal consistency was computed and compared to general population data. Correlations between the WAIS-IV and the VABS were computed. RESULTS: Internal consistencies for the tests when used with adults who have ID were generally good. The correlations between the WAIS-IV and VABS composite and subdomain scores were all low and similar to those reported for the general population. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the WAIS-IV and VABS are measuring different constructs that contribute to the diagnosis of ID. Unfortunately, by the time such data have been collected, tests are being revised. The Vineland has now been revised and is in its third edition, but no data on the relationship between IQ and the VABS were collected during test development. The WAIS-V is now in development, and so it is recommended that such work be incorporated into this process or shortly thereafter to ensure that the tools continue to access independent constructs.

Clinical utility of the WASI-II and its association with acculturation levels among Arab American adolescent males.

Neuropsychologists attempting to provide an ethical and clinically useful assessment of intellectual functioning among immigrant youth face great challenges. For instance, immigrant youth undergo an acculturation process that can profoundly affect cognitive development including the reliability and validity of norm-referenced intelligence tests. This study explored the clinical utility of the WASI-II among male adolecent Arab Americans (n = 80). It also explored the association between sociodemographic proxy variables and acculturation rating scale measures with verbal and language-reduced IQ performances. Results showed lower verbal than language-reduced IQs but discrepancies occurred in the context of signficant variability within and between each IQ index. The difference between each IQ index was mostly associated with sociodemographic proxy factors. English language competence was associated with performance on Vocabulary. No acculturation variable was substantially associated with language-reduced IQ after controlling for parent income. Performance on Matrix Reasoning was not influenced by any sociodemographic or acculturation factors. Results showed that proxy acculturation variables were not associated with WASI-II outcomes. Important clinical and research implications, and limitations were outlined.

The WISC-V in children and adolescents with epilepsy.

Despite its popularity in the neuropsychological evaluation of children, the utility of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V) has not yet been investigated in children with epilepsy. Eighty clinically referred children and adolescents with epilepsy were administered the WISC-V as part of a comprehensive assessment and scores were compared to matched controls from the WISC-V standardization sample. T tests compared WISC-V indices and subtests between patients and controls and Chi-square analyses compared the rates of low scores. Correlational analyses assessed the relationships between epilepsy severity variables (e.g., age of onset, duration of epilepsy, number of antiepileptic drugs, seizure frequency). All WISC-V composites and subtests were significantly lower in patients versus controls and the rate of low scores was higher in patients than controls for all composites and subtests with the exception of Figure Weights. The Working Memory Index and Processing Speed Index were most sensitive to impairment, while the Verbal Comprehension Index and Fluid Reasoning Index were least sensitive. Of the epilepsy severity variables, age of seizure onset and number of antiepileptic drugs were strong predictors of deficits, whereas seizure frequency was the weakest predictor. Importantly, no significant differences were seen in children with right hemisphere epilepsy versus left on the five WISC-V composites, though a trend was seen towards a lower Visual-Spatial Index in those with right-sided focal seizures.

Using Z and age-equivalent scores to address WISC-IV floor effects for children with intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition often produces floor effects in individuals with intellectual disability. Calculating respondents' Z or age-equivalent scores has been claimed to remedy this problem. METHOD: The present study applied these methods to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition scores of 198 individuals diagnosed with intellectual disability. Confirmatory factor analysis and profile analysis were conducted using a Bayesian approach. RESULTS: The intelligence structure in intellectual disability resembled the one previously reported for typical development, suggesting configural but not metric invariance. When Z or age-equivalent scores (but not traditional scaled scores) were used, the average profile resembled the one previously reported for other neurodevelopmental disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Both methods avoided any floor effects, generating similar but not identical profiles. Despite some practical and conceptual limitations, age-equivalent scores may be easier to interpret. This was true even for a subgroup of individuals with more severe disabilities (mean IQ < 43).

Utility of matrix reasoning as an embedded performance validity indicator in pediatric mild traumatic brain injury.

The present study examined the utility of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II) Matrix Reasoning (MR) subtest in detecting suspect effort among a pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) sample. The sample consisted of 526 clinically referred patients aged 8-16 years. Sixteen percent of participants failed the Medical Symptom Validity Test, which was used to categorize the sample into adequate and suspect effort groups. No background or injury-related variables differentiated the two groups. Comparisons between the adequate and suspect effort groups revealed significant differences in MR performance (p < .001; d = 1.46). A subsample (n = 206) where first item missed data were available was also analyzed; suspect effort participants missed their first item significantly earlier than adequate effort participants. In the entire sample, a MR cutoff T-score of 43 resulted in sensitivity of 57% and specificity of 90%. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for MR T-score was .804. Within this relatively high-functioning pediatric population with mTBI, MR appeared to have good utility as an embedded validity indicator, with classification statistics comparable to many of the most commonly used embedded indices used with adults.

Four-Subtest Index-based Short Form of WAIS-IV: Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility.

Short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is often needed to quickly estimate intelligence for time-saving or screening in clinical practice. The present study aims to examine the psychometric properties of Chinese version of the four-subtest index-based short form (SF4) of WAIS-IV (FS) and to confirm its clinical application. 1,757 adults from the WAIS-IV Chinese version standardization sample and 239 mixed clinical samples including patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SCH), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and mild or moderate intellectual disability (ID) were used. Demographic data were collected and intelligence was assessed with WAIS-IV. The SF4 split-half reliability, test-retest stability coefficients and corrected SF4-FS correlations were good to excellent. The result of the Bland-Altman plot showed that the difference fell within 2SD was 95% and indicated a random error. The sensitivity, specificity positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the stepwise screening were good. There was an interaction (p < .001) between the IQ level (≥111) and gender on the accuracy of SF4, SF4 might get underestimated on females with the IQ level (≥111) than on males. In conclusion, SF4 is a valid and reliable instrument for use in the clinic, and its clinical application, stepwise screening and influencing factors in clinical use are discussed herein.

Examining false-positive rates of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) processing speed-based embedded validity indicators among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Recent research (Erdodi et al., 2017) indicated that certain Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) Processing Speed Index (PSI)-based indices may have some utility as embedded validity indicators (EVIs) among a diagnostically diverse sample of neuropsychology referrals. Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are often evaluated in forensic contexts in which there is incentive to exaggerate deficits. Because individuals with SSD often have limitations in processing speed associated with their disorders, the current study sought to evaluate the false-positive (FP) rates of cutoffs identified by Erdodi et al. on WAIS-IV PSI-based EVIs among forensically committed psychiatric inpatients with SSD who had no known incentive to feign because of the nature of their legal commitments. In the current sample, the previously suggested cutoff scores on PSI-based EVIs resulted in FP rates ranging from 2% to 57% among schizophrenia spectrum patients, with unacceptable FP rates for most indices. In the current sample of SSD patients, WAIS-IV PSI-based EVIs that are calculated based on the relative performance between PSI subtests (as opposed to absolute performance on individual indices) demonstrated acceptable FP rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Construct validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children - Fifth UK Edition: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the 16 primary and secondary subtests.

BACKGROUND: There is inadequate information regarding the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth UK Edition (WISC-VUK ; Wechsler, 2016a, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth UK Edition, Harcourt Assessment, London, UK) to guide interpretation. AIMS AND METHODS: The WISC-VUK was examined using complementary exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for all models proposed by Wechsler (2016b, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth UK Edition: Administration and scoring manual, Harcourt Assessment, London, UK) as well as rival bifactor models. SAMPLE: The WISC-VUK standardization sample (N = 415) correlation matrix was used in analyses due to denial of standardization sample raw data. RESULTS: EFA did not support a theoretically posited fifth factor because only one subtest (Matrix Reasoning) had a salient pattern coefficient on the fifth factor. A model with four group factors and a general intelligence factor resembling the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition, Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX, USA) was supported by both EFA and CFA. General intelligence (g) was the dominant source of subtest variance and large omega-hierarchical coefficients supported interpretation of the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) score. In contrast, the four group factors accounted for small portions of subtest variance and low omega-hierarchical subscale coefficients indicated that the four-factor index scores were of questionable interpretive value independent of g. Present results replicated independent assessments of the Canadian, Spanish, French, and US versions of the WISC-V (Canivez, Watkins, & Dombrowski, 2016, Psychological Assessment, 28, 975; 2017, Psychological Assessment, 29, 458; Fennollar-Cortés & Watkins, 2018, International Journal of School & Educational Psychology; Lecerf & Canivez, 2018, Psychological Assessment; Watkins, Dombrowski, & Canivez, 2018, International Journal of School and Educational Psychology). CONCLUSION: Primary interpretation of the WISC-VUK should be of the FSIQ as an estimate of general intelligence.