Multi-group and hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fifth Edition: What does it measure?

What does the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment-II (NEPSY-II) measure in children ages 7 to 12? A structural and psychometric analysis

The Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment - II (NEPSY-II) is a widely used assessment battery in pediatric settings, but its internal structure has not been adequately examined. This study employed a rational, empirical approach to examine the construct validity of 23 NEPSY-II subtest scores from children ages 7-12 (M = 9.99, SD = 2.76) in the NEPSY-II norming sample (N = 600; 50% girls). Competing higher-order models based on prior research, hypothesized NEPSY-II domains, and conceptual subtest classifications were evaluated via confirmatory factor analysis and a sequential approach to model comparisons. The results supported the multidimensionality of NEPSY-II subtests and the organization of subtests by hypothesized neuropsychological domains. The best fitting model included a general factor and four first-order factors. Factor loadings from the general factor to first-order factors were very strong. However, general factor loadings for most subtests were less than .50 (range = .21-.69, M = .44), and domain-specific effects for all subtests, independent of the general factor, were even lower (range = .00-.45, M = .44). Interestingly, all subtests demonstrated strong subtest-specific effects, but it is not clear what construct(s) the subtest-specific effects represent. Findings support NEPSY-II authors' emphasis on subtest-level interpretations rather than composite-level interpretations and highlight that NEPSY-II subtest scores should be interpreted carefully and with caution.

Correlates of performance on the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP) in a mixed pediatric sample

This study aimed to determine some of the factors that influence performance on a comprehensive test of verbal and visual memory in children, the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP) in a mixed clinical sample (n = 178; 56% male, 67% White, median age 12 years). We used hierarchical linear regression analyses with ChAMP standard scores as the dependent variable, and parental education as well as Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) factor index scores as the independent variables. WISC-V Processing Speed and (to a lesser extent) Working Memory were statistically significant predictors of most ChAMP Index scores. In addition, WISC-V Verbal Comprehension contributed to the model for ChAMP Verbal Memory, and WISC-V Visual Spatial to the model for ChAMP Visual Memory. In each case better performance on the WISC-V was predictive of higher scores on the ChAMP, with large effect sizes. WISC-V variables also mediated the positive effect of parental education on ChAMP scores. We conclude that clinicians should consider performance on measures of speed of processing, working memory, language and visual-spatial skills as potential influences on ChAMP results that may suggest a specific memory deficit.

Measurement Invariance of the WISC-V across a Clinical Sample of Children and Adolescents with ADHD and a Matched Control Group

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.

WISC-V Measurement Invariance According to Sex and Age: Advancing the Understanding of Intergroup Differences in Cognitive Performance

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.

Cross-National Generalizability of WISC-V and CHC Broad Ability Constructs across France, Spain, and the US

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model is based on psychometric cognitive ability research and is the most empirically supported model of cognitive ability constructs. This study is one in a series of cross-national comparisons investigating the equivalence and generalizability of psychological constructs which align with the CHC model. Previous research exploring the cross-cultural generalizability of cognitive ability measures concluded that the factor analytic models of cognitive abilities generalize across cultures and are compatible with well-established CHC constructs. The equivalence of the psychological constructs, as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V), has been established across English-speaking samples. However, few studies have explored the equivalence of psychological constructs across non-English speaking, nationally representative samples. This study explored the equivalence of the WISC-V five-factor model across standardization samples from France, Spain, and the US. The five-factor scoring model demonstrated excellent fit across the three samples independently. Factorial invariance was investigated and the results demonstrated strict factorial invariance across France, Spain, and the US. The results provide further support for the generalizability of CHC constructs across Western cultural populations that speak different languages and support the continued use and development of the CHC model as a common nomenclature and blueprint for cognitive ability researchers and test developers. Suggestions for future research on the CHC model of intelligence are discussed.

Bootstrap Exploratory Graph Analysis of the WISC-V with a Clinical Sample

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.

Executive function as a generalized determinant of psychopathology and functional outcome in school-aged autism spectrum disorder: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are challenged not only by the defining features of social-communication deficits and restricted repetitive behaviors, but also by a myriad of psychopathology varying in severity. Different cognitive deficits underpin these psychopathologies, which could be subjected to intervention to alter the course of the disorder. Understanding domain-specific mediating effects of cognition is essential for developing targeted intervention strategies. However, the high degree of inter-correlation among different cognitive functions hinders elucidation of individual effects.

METHODS

In the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, 218 individuals with ASD were matched with 872 non-ASD controls on sex, age, race, and socioeconomic status. Participants of this cohort were deeply and broadly phenotyped on neurocognitive abilities and dimensional psychopathology. Using structural equation modeling, inter-correlation among cognitive domains were adjusted before mediation analysis on outcomes of multi-domain psychopathology and functional level.

RESULTS

While social cognition, complex cognition, and memory each had a unique pattern of mediating effect on psychopathology domains in ASD, none had significant effects on the functional level. In contrast, executive function was the only cognitive domain that exerted a generalized negative impact on every psychopathology domain (p factor, anxious-misery, psychosis, fear, and externalizing), as well as functional level.

CONCLUSIONS

Executive function has a unique association with the severity of comorbid psychopathology in ASD, and could be a target of interventions. As executive dysfunction occurs variably in ASD, our result also supports the clinical utility of assessing executive function for prognostic purposes.

A Psychometric Network Analysis of CHC Intelligence Measures: Implications for Research, Theory, and Interpretation of Broad CHC Scores "Beyond g"

For over a century, the structure of intelligence has been dominated by factor analytic methods that presume tests are indicators of latent entities (e.g., general intelligence or g). Recently, psychometric network methods and theories (e.g., process overlap theory; dynamic mutualism) have provided alternatives to g-centric factor models. However, few studies have investigated contemporary cognitive measures using network methods. We apply a Gaussian graphical network model to the age 9-19 standardization sample of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-Fourth Edition. Results support the primary broad abilities from the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory and suggest that the working memory-attentional control complex may be central to understanding a CHC network model of intelligence. Supplementary multidimensional scaling analyses indicate the existence of possible higher-order dimensions (PPIK; triadic theory; System I-II cognitive processing) as well as separate learning and retrieval aspects of long-term memory. Overall, the network approach offers a viable alternative to factor models with a g-centric bias (i.e., bifactor models) that have led to erroneous conclusions regarding the utility of broad CHC scores in test interpretation beyond the full-scale IQ, g.

Multidimensional Scaling of Cognitive Ability and Academic Achievement Scores

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used as an alternate multivariate procedure for investigating intelligence and academic achievement test score correlations. Correlation coefficients among Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-5) and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) validity sample scores and among Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II) and Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition (KTEA-2) co-norming sample scores were analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS). Three-dimensional MDS configurations were the best fit for interpretation in both datasets. Subtests were more clearly organized by CHC ability and academic domain instead of complexity. Auditory-linguistic, figural-visual, reading-writing, and quantitative-numeric regions were visible in all models. Results were mostly similar across different grade levels. Additional analysis with WISC-V and WIAT-III tests showed that content (verbal, numeric, figural) and response process facets (verbal, manual, paper-pencil) were also useful in explaining test locations. Two implications from this study are that caution may be needed when interpreting fluency scores across academic areas, and MDS provides more empirically based validity evidence regarding content and response mode processes.

Revisiting the Factor Structure of the German WISC-V for Clinical Interpretability: An Exploratory and Confirmatory Approach on the 10 Primary Subtests

With the exception of a recently published study and the analyses provided in the test manual, structural validity is mostly uninvestigated for the German version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Therefore, the main aim of the present study was to examine the latent structure of the 10 WISC-V primary subtests on a bifurcated extended population-representative German standardization sample (N=1,646) by conducting both exploratory (EFA; n=823) and confirmatory (CFA; n=823) factor analyses on the original data. Since no more than one salient subtest loading could be found on the Fluid Reasoning (FR) factor in EFA, results indicated a four-factor rather than a five-factor model solution when the extraction of more than two suggested factors was forced. Likewise, a bifactor model with four group factors was found to be slightly superior in CFA. Variance estimation from both EFA and CFA revealed that the general factor dominantly accounted for most of the subtest variance and construct reliability estimates further supported interpretability of the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ). In both EFA and CFA, most group factors explained rather small proportions of common subtest variance and produced low construct replicability estimates, suggesting that the WISC-V primary indexes were of lower interpretive value and should be evaluated with caution. Clinical interpretation should thus be primarily based on the FSIQ and include a comprehensive analysis of the cognitive profile derived from the WISC-V primary indexes rather than analyses of each single primary index.

An independent examination of the equivalence of the standard and digital administration formats of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-5th Edition

A new administration format for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) was introduced in 2016 on Q-interactive, Pearson's digital platform for test administration and scoring. The current study examined the measurement unit equivalence of the WISC-V standard and digital administration formats using counter-balanced administration of the 10 primary subtests to measure intellectual ability. The results indicated that correlations (r) between standard scores on subtests and composites administered in each format were generally moderate, with mean rs of 0.64 for subtests and 0.71 for composites after correction for attenuation, with the lowest rs for processing speed. Split-plot ANOVAs were conducted to examine within-subjects main effects for administration format and order and their interaction. The results of these analyses revealed significant main effects for format for the Full Scale IQ and Processing Speed composite scores, with small to medium effect sizes (ds > 0.40). These format effects largely stemmed from the non-equivalence of the Coding subtest, which is used to derive both composites. For Coding, the main effect for format was statistically significant, with a large effect size (d = 0.69). Statistically significant administration order by format interaction effects were also observed for a number of composites and subtests, with medium to large effect sizes (ƞ_ps² > 0.20). In each case, higher mean scores were observed when the WISC-V was administered first in digital format. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.

Validity of the WISC-V in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance

Objective: Assessment of intellectual abilities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a core component of a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. However, relatively limited information is available regarding the validity of one of the most commonly-used measures of intelligence, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - 5th Edition (WISC-V) in ASD.Method: We investigated the factor structure and measurement invariance of the WISC-V in a sample of 349 children aged 6-16 diagnosed with ASD using single- and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The comparison group was the WISC-V standardization sample.Results: A four-index bifactor solution best fit the ASD group data. Measurement invariance analyses indicated support for configural and metric, but not scalar, invariance of the published 5-index structure, suggesting systematic differences in performance among some subscales in ASD. The 7-subtest FSIQ scale had partial scalar invariance after relaxing equality constraints on the Coding and Digit Span subtest intercepts, suggesting sources other than theorized IQ ability contribute to lower scores on these subtests within ASD. The Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) failed to demonstrate appropriate fit in baseline models. The General Ability Index (GAI) had full configural, metric, and scalar invariance.Conclusions: Statistical bias on the WISC-V within ASD in processing speed and working memory subtests creates significant limitations for the use of FSIQ and especially CPI index scores in ASD populations. The GAI showed strong measurement properties and should be considered as the preferred indicator of overall intellectual functioning when assessing children with ASD using the WISC-V.

Measurement Invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition 10-Subtest Primary Battery: Can Index Scores be Compared across Age, Sex, and Diagnostic Groups?

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10 subtest primary battery was evaluated across sex, age (6–8, 9–11, 12–14, and 15–16 year-olds), and three diagnostic (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and encephalopathy) groups within a large clinical sample ( N = 5359) referred to a children’s specialty hospital. Competing models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a five-factor oblique model corresponding to the publisher’s hypothesized first-order measurement model (e.g., verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial, working memory, and processing speed) was found to have the best model fit. Multigroup CFA was subsequently used to evaluate progressively more restrictive constraints on the measurement model. Results indicated that full metric invariance was attained across the three groups studied. Full scalar invariance was attained for sex and diagnostic groups. Partial scalar invariance was attained for age-group. The results of this study provide support for the first-order scoring structure of the five WISC-V factors in the 10 subtest primary battery with this large clinical sample.

Age and Gender Invariance in the Taiwan Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition: Higher Order Five-Factor Model

This study investigated the factorial invariance of the Taiwan Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) across age and gender. A higher order five-factor model was tested on a nationally representative sample of 1,034 children aged 6–16 years. The results demonstrated full factorial invariance for Taiwan children of different ages and gender. The WISC-V subtests demonstrated the same underlying theoretical latent constructs, strength of relations among factors and subtests, validity of each first-order factor, and communalities, regardless of age and gender, which supported the same interpretive approach of the WISC-V. These results accord with findings in the United States, indicating a full factorial invariance of the WISC-V five-factor structure across ages and gender.

Use of translated and adapted versions of the WISC-V: Caveat emptor

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is the most widely used intelligence test in the world. Now in its fifth edition, the WISC-V has been translated and adapted for use in nearly a dozen countries. Despite its popularity, numerous concerns have been raised about some of the procedures used to develop and validate translated and adapted versions of the test around the world. The purpose of this article is to survey the most salient of those methodological and statistical limitations. In particular, empirical data are presented that call into question the equating procedures used to validate the WISC-V Spanish, suggesting cautious use of that instrument. It is believed that the issues raised in the present article will be instructive for school psychologists engaged in the clinical assessment of intelligence with the WISC-V Spanish and with other translated and adapted versions around the world.

Monte Carlo Modeling of Contemporary Intelligence Test (IQ) Factor Structure: Implications for IQ Assessment, Interpretation, and Theory

Researchers continue to debate the constructs measured by commercial ability tests. Factor analytic investigations of these measures have been used to develop and refine widely adopted psychometric theories of intelligence particularly the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model. Even so, this linkage may be problematic as many of these investigations examine a particular instrument in isolation and CHC model specification across tests and research teams has not been consistent. To address these concerns, the present study used Monte Carlo resampling to investigate the latent structure of four of the most widely used intelligence tests for children and adolescents. The results located the approximate existence of the publisher posited CHC theoretical group factors in the Differential Abilities Scales-Second edition and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children-Second edition but not in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth edition or the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Instead, the results supported alternative conceptualizations from independent factor analytic research. Additionally, whereas a bifactor model produced superior fit indices in two instruments (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth edition and Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities), a higher order structure was found to be superior in the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children-Second edition and the Differential Abilities Scales-Second edition. Regardless of the model employed, the general factor captured a significant portion of each instrument's variance. Implications for IQ test assessment, interpretation, and theory are discussed.

Exploratory Factor Analyses of the Intelligence and Development Scales-2: Implications for Theory and Practice

The factor structure of the intelligence and scholastic skills domains of the Intelligence and Development Scales-2 was examined using exploratory factor analyses with the standardization and validation sample (N = 2,030, aged 5 to 20 years). Results partly supported the seven proposed intelligence group factors. However, the theoretical factors Visual Processing and Abstract Reasoning as well as Verbal Reasoning and Long-Term Memory collapsed, resulting in a five-factor structure for intelligence. Adding the three scholastic skills subtests resulted in an additional factor Reading/Writing and in Logical-Mathematical Reasoning showing a loading on abstract Visual Reasoning and the highest general factor loading. A data-driven separation of intelligence and scholastic skills is not evident. Omega reliability estimates based on Schmid-Leiman transformations revealed a strong general factor that accounted for most of the true score variance both overall and at the group factor level. The possible usefulness of factor scores is discussed.

Construct Validity of the WISC-V in Clinical Cases: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the 10 Primary Subtests

Independent exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) research with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V) standardization sample has failed to provide support for the five group factors proposed by the publisher, but there have been no independent examinations of the WISC-V structure among clinical samples. The present study examined the latent structure of the 10 WISC-V primary subtests with a large (N = 2,512), bifurcated clinical sample (EFA, n = 1,256; CFA, n = 1,256). EFA did not support five factors as there were no salient subtest factor pattern coefficients on the fifth extracted factor. EFA indicated a four-factor model resembling the WISC-IV with a dominant general factor. A bifactor model with four group factors was supported by CFA as suggested by EFA. Variance estimates from both EFA and CFA found that the general intelligence factor dominated subtest variance and omega-hierarchical coefficients supported interpretation of the general intelligence factor. In both EFA and CFA, group factors explained small portions of common variance and produced low omega-hierarchical subscale coefficients, indicating that the group factors were of poor interpretive value.

Short Forms of Wechsler Scales Assessing the Intellectually Gifted Children Using Simulation Data

Intellectual giftedness is usually defined in terms of having a very high Intellectual Quotient (IQ). The intellectual capacity is assessed by a standardized test such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). However, the identification of intellectually gifted children (IGC) often remains time-consuming. A short-form WISC can be used as a screening instrument. The practitioners and researchers in this field can then make a more in-depth evaluation of the IGC's cognitive and socioemotional characteristics if needed. The aim of our study is thus to determine the best short tests, in terms of their psychometric qualities, for the identification of IGC. The current study is composed of three-step analyses. Firstly, we created nine IQs short forms (IQ_SF) with 2-subtests, and nine IQ_SF with 4-subtests from the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2005). Secondly, we estimated psychometric parameters (i.e., reliability and validity) from empirical and simulated dataset with WISC-IV. The difference in the estimation of psychometric qualities of each IQ_SF from the simulated data is very close to those derived from empirical data. We thus selected the three best IQ_SF based on these psychometrics parameters estimated from simulated datasets. For each selected short form of the WISC-IV, we estimated the screening quality in our sample of IGC. Thirdly, we created IQ_SF with 2- and 4-subtests from the WISC-V (Wechsler, 2016) with simulated dataset. We then highlighted the three best short forms of WISC-V based on the estimated psychometric parameters. The results are interpreted in terms of validity, reliability and screening quality of IGC. In spite of the important changes in the WISC-V, our findings show that the 2-subtest form, Similitaries + Matrix Reasoning, and 4-subtest form, Similitaries + Vocabulary + Matrix Reasoning + Block Design, are the most efficient to identify the IGC at the two recent versions of Wechsler scales. Finally, we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a brief assessment of intellectual aptitudes for the identification of the IGC.

Different brain networks underlying intelligence in autism spectrum disorders

There has been sustained clinical and cognitive neuroscience research interest in how network correlates of brain-behavior relationships might be altered in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. As previous work has mostly focused on adults, the nature of whole-brain connectivity networks underlying intelligence in pediatric cohorts with abnormal neurodevelopment requires further investigation. We used network-based statistics (NBS) to examine the association between resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) connectivity and fluid intelligence ability in male children (n = 50) with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; M = 10.45, SD = 1.58 years and in controls (M = 10.38, SD = 0.96 years) matched on fluid intelligence performance, age and sex. Repeat analyses were performed in independent sites for validation and replication. Despite being equivalent on fluid intelligence ability to strictly matched neurotypical controls, boys with ASD displayed a subnetwork of significantly increased associations between functional connectivity and fluid intelligence. Between-group differences remained significant at higher edge thresholding, and results were validated in independent-site replication analyses in an equivalent age and sex-matched cohort with ASD. Regions consistently implicated in atypical connectivity correlates of fluid intelligence in ASD were the angular gyrus, posterior middle temporal gyrus, occipital and temporo-occipital regions. Development of fluid intelligence neural correlates in young ASD males is aberrant, with an increased strength in intrinsic connectivity association during childhood. Alterations in whole-brain network correlates of fluid intelligence in ASD may be a compensatory mechanism that allows equal task performance to neurotypical peers.

Cognitive ability influences on written expression: Evidence for developmental and sex-based differences in school-age children

Some studies have demonstrated that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cognitive abilities influence writing; however, little research has investigated whether CHC cognitive abilities influence writing the same way for males and females across grades. We used multiple group structural equation models to investigate whether CHC cognitive ability influences on written expression differed between grades or sex using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition and the Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, Second Edition co-normed standardization sample data (N=2117). After testing for consistent measurement of cognitive abilities across grades and sex, we tested whether the cognitive ability influences on written expression were moderated by grade level or sex. An important developmental shift was observed equally across sex groups: Learning Efficiency (Gl) influences decreased whereas Crystallized Ability (Gc) influences increased after fourth grade. Further, Short-Term Memory (Gsm) and Retrieval Fluency (Gr) influences on written expression depended on sex at grades 1-4, with larger Gr influences for females and larger Gsm influences for males. We internally replicated our main findings using two different cognitive explanatory models, adding further support for the developmental and sex-based differential cognitive ability influences on writing. Explanatory cognitive models of writing need to incorporate development, and possibly, sex to provide an expanded understanding of writing development and guard against potential generalizability issues characteristic of special population (i.e., male-female) studies.

Scores in Space: Multidimensional Scaling of the WISC-V

The purpose of this study was to use multidimensional scaling (MDS) to investigate relations among scores from the standardization sample of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fifth edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014). Nonmetric two-dimensional MDS maps were selected for interpretation. The most cognitively complex subtests and indexes were located near the center of the maps. Subtests were also grouped together in the way that they are organized in the primary and complementary indexes, and not necessarily on content surface features. Naming Speed and Symbol Translation scores may be better off kept as separate indexes, and Digit Span Sequencing appeared to add more complexity to the Digit Span subtest. One implication related to score interpretation is that General Ability Index (GAI) and Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) may be distinguished by the level of complexity of the subtests included in each index (i.e., more complex subtests included in GAI and less complex subtests included in the CPI).