Construct Validity of the WISC

A special issue of Journal of Intelligence (ISSN 2079-3200).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 8931

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland
Interests: intelligence; psychological assessment; psychometrics; inter- and intra-individual variability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children—Fifth Edition (WISC-V) is the most recent edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and one of the most frequently used to assess “intelligence”. Despite its long history and its popularity in (neuro-)psychological assessment, there are still controversies around its use. One of the main debate concerns the (construct) validity of the WISC-V, which is crucial for indices and subtest scores interpretation and use. Psychological instruments have construct validity to the extent that they measure the construct—the attributes—they are designed to measure.

We are primarily looking for empirical papers. However, papers proposing theoretical and methodological (statistical) developments are also welcome. Regarding empirical papers, authors are invited to contribute with new and not yet published data or with re-analyzed data.

Therefore, this Special issue is soliciting submissions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • New methods/perspectives to analyze the construct validity of the WISC-V;
  • Construct validity and cultural and/or linguistic loads in the WISC-V;
  • Theoretical reflections about the WISC-V and the psychometric structure of intelligence;
  • The construct validity of the WISC-V in applied settings;
  • The construct validity of the WISC-V with remote assessment or tablet-based testing.

Dr. Thierry Lecerf
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Intelligence is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • WISC-V
  • construct validity
  • intelligence theory
  • culture
  • Cattell–Horn–Carroll theory
  • neuropsychological theory

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 1663 KiB  
Article
Measurement Invariance of the WISC-V across a Clinical Sample of Children and Adolescents with ADHD and a Matched Control Group
by Angelika Beate Christiane Becker, Jenny Maurer, Monika Daseking and Franz Pauls
J. Intell. 2024, 12(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence12010006 - 12 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2188
Abstract
Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10-primary subtest battery was analyzed across a group of children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 91) and a control group (n = 91) matched by sex, age, migration [...] Read more.
Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10-primary subtest battery was analyzed across a group of children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 91) and a control group (n = 91) matched by sex, age, migration background, and parental education or type of school. First, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed to establish the model fit for the WISC-V second-order five-factor model in each group. A sufficiently good fit of the model was found for the data in both groups. Subsequently, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFAs) were conducted to test for measurement invariance across the ADHD and control group. Results of these analyses indicated configural and metric invariance but did not support full scalar invariance. However, after relaxing equality constraints on the Vocabulary (VC), Digit Span (DS), Coding (CD), Symbol Search (SS), and Picture Span (PS) subtest intercepts as well as on the intercepts of the first-order factors Working Memory (WM) and Processing Speed (PS), partial scalar invariance could be obtained. Furthermore, model-based reliability coefficients indicated that the WISC-V provides a more precise measurement of general intelligence (e.g., represented by the Full-Scale IQ, FSIQ) than it does for cognitive subdomains (e.g., represented by the WISC-V indexes). Group comparisons revealed that the ADHD group scored significantly lower than the control group on four primary subtests, thus achieving significantly lower scores on the corresponding primary indexes and the FSIQ. Given that measurement invariance across the ADHD and the control group could not be fully confirmed for the German WISC-V, clinical interpretations based on the WISC-V primary indexes are limited and should only be made with great caution regarding the cognitive profiles of children and adolescents with ADHD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Construct Validity of the WISC)
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23 pages, 1307 KiB  
Article
WISC-V Measurement Invariance According to Sex and Age: Advancing the Understanding of Intergroup Differences in Cognitive Performance
by Marcela Rodríguez-Cancino and Andrés Concha-Salgado
J. Intell. 2023, 11(9), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11090180 - 6 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1461
Abstract
This study sought to verify whether the constructs measured on the WISC-V are equivalent according to sex and age group in Chilean students to substantiate intergroup comparisons. For this, the measurement invariance of two variants of the five-factor intelligence model was explored with [...] Read more.
This study sought to verify whether the constructs measured on the WISC-V are equivalent according to sex and age group in Chilean students to substantiate intergroup comparisons. For this, the measurement invariance of two variants of the five-factor intelligence model was explored with the ten primary subtests (hierarchical and oblique) using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Seven hundred and forty participants between 6 and 16 years of age from the Chilean standardization sample were assessed. The results show complete invariance according to sex, but incomplete according to the age group. The implications of these findings in both the professional area of psychology and future research are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Construct Validity of the WISC)
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11 pages, 1045 KiB  
Article
Gender Differences in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children in a Large Group of Italian Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
by David Giofrè, Enrico Toffalini, Lorenzo Esposito and Cesare Cornoldi
J. Intell. 2023, 11(9), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11090178 - 5 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1750
Abstract
Despite being repeatedly investigated in children with typical development, research on gender differences in intellectual abilities in specific groups of children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been scarce. In this paper, we evaluated the performance of a large group [...] Read more.
Despite being repeatedly investigated in children with typical development, research on gender differences in intellectual abilities in specific groups of children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been scarce. In this paper, we evaluated the performance of a large group of Italian children with ADHD using the WISC-IV. We aimed at investigating the presence of gender differences using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis approach. Results showed that the WISC is largely gender-invariant. However, some tasks present non-invariant patterns (block design and coding). Differences at the latent level also showed some differences (favoring boys) in the verbal comprehension index. Conversely, differences at the latent level were not found in the full-scale IQ or in the other main indices. These results have theoretical and practical implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Construct Validity of the WISC)
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21 pages, 1593 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Structure of the French WISC–V (WISC–VFR) for Five Age Groups Using Psychometric Network Modeling
by Thierry Lecerf, Salome Döll and Mathilde Bastien
J. Intell. 2023, 11(8), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11080160 - 10 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1131
Abstract
Since the seminal work of Spearman, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis represents the standard method of examining the dimensionality of psychological instruments. Recently, within the network psychometrics approach, a new procedure was proposed to estimate the dimensionality of psychological instruments: exploratory graph analysis [...] Read more.
Since the seminal work of Spearman, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis represents the standard method of examining the dimensionality of psychological instruments. Recently, within the network psychometrics approach, a new procedure was proposed to estimate the dimensionality of psychological instruments: exploratory graph analysis (EGA). This study investigated the structure of the French Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth Edition (WISC–VFR) with five standardization sample age groups (6–7, 8–9, 10–11, 12–13, and 14–16 years) using EGA. The primary research questions include (a) how many WISC–VFR dimensions are identified in each age subgroup? (b) how are subtest scores associated within the dimensions? Because the number and the content of the dimensions identified by EGA could vary with samples, the secondary research questions include (c) is there evidence of reproducibility and generalizability of the dimensions identified by EGA? We used another procedure called bootstrap exploratory graph analysis (bootEGA). EGA and bootEGA suggested only three dimensions, which are consistent with processing speed, verbal comprehension, and the “old” perceptual reasoning factor. Results did not support the distinction between visual–spatial and fluid reasoning dimensions. EGA and bootEGA represent new tools to assess the construct validity of psychological instruments, such as the WISC–VFR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Construct Validity of the WISC)
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12 pages, 879 KiB  
Article
Bootstrap Exploratory Graph Analysis of the WISC–V with a Clinical Sample
by Marley W. Watkins, Stefan C. Dombrowski, Ryan J. McGill, Gary L. Canivez, Alison E. Pritchard and Lisa A. Jacobson
J. Intell. 2023, 11(7), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11070137 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1628
Abstract
One important aspect of construct validity is structural validity. Structural validity refers to the degree to which scores of a psychological test are a reflection of the dimensionality of the construct being measured. A factor analysis, which assumes that unobserved latent variables are [...] Read more.
One important aspect of construct validity is structural validity. Structural validity refers to the degree to which scores of a psychological test are a reflection of the dimensionality of the construct being measured. A factor analysis, which assumes that unobserved latent variables are responsible for the covariation among observed test scores, has traditionally been employed to provide structural validity evidence. Factor analytic studies have variously suggested either four or five dimensions for the WISC–V and it is unlikely that any new factor analytic study will resolve this dimensional dilemma. Unlike a factor analysis, an exploratory graph analysis (EGA) does not assume a common latent cause of covariances between test scores. Rather, an EGA identifies dimensions by locating strongly connected sets of scores that form coherent sub-networks within the overall network. Accordingly, the present study employed a bootstrap EGA technique to investigate the structure of the 10 WISC–V primary subtests using a large clinical sample (N = 7149) with a mean age of 10.7 years and a standard deviation of 2.8 years. The resulting structure was composed of four sub-networks that paralleled the first-order factor structure reported in many studies where the fluid reasoning and visual–spatial dimensions merged into a single dimension. These results suggest that discrepant construct and scoring structures exist for the WISC–V that potentially raise serious concerns about the test interpretations of psychologists who employ the test structure preferred by the publisher. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Construct Validity of the WISC)
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