Combined factor analysis of the WISC-III and CMS: does the resulting factor structure discriminate among children with and without clinical disorders?
Year: 2006
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition (WISC-III;\nWechsler, 1991) and the Children’s Memory Scale (CMS; Cohen, 1997) are frequently\nused measures of children’s cognitive ability and memory, respectively. They are often\nused together to assess a child’s strengths and weaknesses to individualize\nrecommendations for assisting them in the educational setting. However, research\nsuggests that there may be some overlap in the abilities assessed by these instruments,\nmaking complete administration of both somewhat redundant. Furthermore, previous\nstudies have been equivocal with regard to the assessment of children with Attention-\nDeficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on the WISC-III. Support for the applicability\nof the four-factor structure of the WISC-III has been questioned, particularly in terms of\nits utility in the diagnosis of ADHD based on the Freedom from Distractibility Index\n(FFD). A combined confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the WISC-III and\nCMS to determine whether a combination of their subtests could be used in lieu of\ncomplete administration of each test. The combined WISC-III/ CMS standardization sample was obtained from the\nPsychological Corporation for use in the confirmatory factor analyses. One-, six-, and\nseven-factor models were initially proposed for the analyses. Results of the combined\nconfirmatory factor analyses indicated that all three models failed to fit the data as well\nas a new five-factor model that was created during modification of the six-factor model.\nOnce the five-factor model was specified as the most appropriate model, a\nclinical sample from a research study was analyzed on the model to find out whether\nthere were age and gender performance differences and also to determine how accurately\nthe new factors differentiated between clinical and nonclinical subsamples. Results\nindicated that males and females performed significantly differently on the Processing\nSpeed factor but there were no age differences. There were significant differences\nbetween the ADHD and no diagnosis groups on three factors: Verbal Comprehension,\nWorking Memory, and Processing Speed; there were no differences on the factors\nbetween ADHD subtypes. Together, the five factors were able to correctly classify 66%\nof children with ADHD. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for\nfuture research are provided.
Author: Becky Mayes Siekierski
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2535897425