WISC-R analysis and profiles as determinants of learning problem diagnoses among children with superior intelligence

Abstract

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) is the most widely used individual intelligence test for children and has been researched with many different populations. This study focused on the performance of a group of children (N = 141) with superior intelligence (IQ 120 or above on the Verbal, Performance, and/or Full Scale of the WISC-R) who were referred for evaluation of learning and attention problems to a child development clinic. Four diagnostic categories of children were included in this study: Normal (referred but not diagnosed), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Learning Disability (LD), and Attention Deficit Disorder/Learning Disability (ADD/LD). The criterion groups were compared to each other and to normal children on Verbal-Performance (V-P) discrepancies, scaled score ranges, and subtest deviations on the WISC-R. Profile analysis was used to determine the ability of the 10 regular subtests and of Bannatyne's recategorizations to distinguish among the diagnostic groups. Analysis of variance procedures indicated no significant differences among the four criterion groups on any of the scatter indices except for Verbal minus Performance scores, with the ADD group scoring higher than the LD group. Significant discriminant functions were found using multivariate discriminant analysis and demonstrated the ability of the WISC-R subtests and Bannatyne's categories to discriminate among the diagnostic groups. Comparisons of scatter indices indicated that this group of bright children with learning and attention problems exhibited significantly greater V-P discrepancies and scaled score ranges than normal children. The findings of this study were discussed in light of the literature concerning group profile analysis with the WISC-R and its limited efficacy in diagnosing individual children with learning disabilities. The need to document the WISC-R performance of specific diagnostic groups of children and their particular intellectual characteristics was also discussed.