A-176 Primary Components of Spoken Language are Specifically Associated with Dimensional Components of Intelligence

Abstract

Abstract Objective We compared the factorial dimensional structure of the four components of spoken language from the Multilingual Aphasia Examination (MAE) with the factorial dimensions of the WAIS-III to test the hypothesis that these intellectual and linguistic components are systematically related. Method Factorial components of spoken language from MAE subtest measures of visual naming (VN), verbal fluency (VF), sentence repetition (SR), and auditory comprehension (AC) were factor analyzed with the factorial components of the WAIS-III index score measures. The sample consisted of 107 neuropsychiatric patients who were administered the WAIS-III and the MAE as clinical procedures. There were no exclusion criteria. Results Specific, independent, robust relationships were demonstrated between each of the four components of spoken language and each of the four factorial components of the WAIS-III. The factorial model explained 70.42% of the total variance among the component measures. VN loaded uniquely with the Verbal Comprehension component. SR loaded uniquely with the Working Memory component. VF loaded uniquely with the Processing Speed component. AC loaded uniquely with the Percentual Organization component. Conclusions The four components of spoken language each provide a unique component of verbal mediation for each of the verbal and nonverbal modular components of the WAIS-III cognitive dimensions. These findings suggest that systematic evaluation of spoken language abilities would complement the assessment of intellectual abilities in both clinical and empirical examinations.