Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Subtests Research Articles

Generalizability of WAIS-R factor structure within and between populations.

We investigated the reliability of the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). The WAIS-R subtests, as administered to 146 head-injured males, were factor analyzed. Two- and three-factor solutions were extracted that were consistent with past findings. Congruence coefficients were computed to determine degree of association between factor structures from all samples reported in the literature. All coefficients were impressive. Also, congruence coefficients based on factor structures derived from different samples within the same population were compared to coefficients based on different samples from different populations. No significant discrepancies emerged. Apparently, the slight factor structure variation that does exist is due to chance data fluctuation rather than to systematic population bias. This reflects well on the robustness of the WAIS-R factor structure.

Subtest scatter and premorbid intelligence: Lessons from the WAIS—R standardization sample.

This study was carried out to underscore that the psychometric properties of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) make it risky for a clinician to utilize, in isolation, an individual's highest WAIS-R subtest score as a robust measure of that person's supposedly higher level of «premorbid» intelligence, or, furthermore, to interpret the individual's lowest WAIS-R subtest scores as indices of an «impairment» in the brain-behavior functions believed to be mirrored by these low subtest scores

Administration Time Estimates For WAIS-R Subtests and Short Forms in a Clinical Sample

Administration times were recorded for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R) subtests and Verbal, Performance, and Full Scales in a sample of 50 Veterans Administration Medical Center psychiatric and neurological patients. Also calculated were the administration times required by a select group of short forms. Results indicated that a complete WAIS-R required an average of 91 minutes, 24 seconds (SD = 14 min 15 sec). The estimate of 60 to 90 minutes' administration time for the standardization sample does not generalize to a clinical population. Five of six short forms reduced testing time by at least 50%. The shortest and least time-consuming abbreviated form consisted of Vocabulary and Block Design ( X̅ = 26 min 1 sec, SD = 6 min 23 sec). The most time-demanding short form was the entire Verbal Scale ( X̅ = 49 min 9 sec, SD = 9 min 45 sec). Because the complete WAIS-R is a time-consuming measure, its use in some clinical situations may be impractical.