Application of the Split-Half WISC-R with Emotionally and Behaviorally Disturbed Children

Abstract

This study examined the validity of the Hobby (1982) WISC-R Split-Half Short Form (SH) when applied to a clinical sample of emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Several issues pertaining to the validaton of short form tests are also examined and discussed. Long Form (LF) results based on a standard administration of the WISC-R for 106 hospitalized child and adolescent psychiatric patients were rescored according to the SH procedures. Extremely high correlations were obtained between LF and SH subtest and IQ scores, and the two test forms contained highly similar factor structures. Nevertheless, significant differences were found on all three IQs, on four of the nine subtests altered by the SH procedures, and on two of Kaufman's (1979) three intelligence factors. Also, approximately 20% of the sample showed discrepancies in the intelligence category assigned, classification of Verbal-Performance differences, and in a quantified index of subtest profile similarity. Clinicians are cautioned against routine use of SH procedures with children, particularly when emotional and behavioral disturbance may already contribute potential error variance to the intellectual assessment.

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