Investigation of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Short Forms in a Sample of Vocational Rehabilitation Applicants

Abstract

This study investigated the validity of two- and four-subtest combinations as estimates of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) among vocational rehabilitation clients (N= 93). Pearson product-moment correlations between FSIQ and two- and four-subtest short forms were .90 and .91, respectively. Both short forms classified approximately 72% of the subjects correctly by intelligence category. When short-form IQs were banded by the standard error of measurement (2.53) at the .95 level of confidence, the four-subtest forms' intelligence classification accuracy improved from 72%o to 80%. It was concluded that neither short form is clearly superior in providing a precise measure of intelligence. However, short forms of the variety used in this study might be used as screening devices in vocational rehabilitation applicants, but only when the clinician desires a gross measure of intellectual functioning. Additional vocational rehabilitation clients should be evaluated to determine whether these findings are generally applicable.