WAIS-IV Clinical Use and Interpretation: Scientist-Practitioner Perspectives

by Lawrence G. Weiss, Donald H. Saklofske, Diane Coalson, Susan Engi Raiford

Overview

Published in August of 2008, WAIS–IV is the most widely used intelligence test for adults in the world. Substantive changes were made to the WAIS-IV from the WAIS-III leaving clinicians with questions as to how to use and interpret the measure effectively. Written by the creators of the new test, this book serves as the ultimate insider's guide to the new test, providing users with the kind of access to norms and data that would be unavailable to any subsequent book on clinical use of this measure.

The book discusses the changes made between 3rd and 4th editions along with an FAQ and answers about use and interpretation. The reader is instructed how to interpret composite scores, and everything needed to use and interpret two entirely new composite scores: the General Ability Index (GAI), and the Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI). This information does NOT appear in the manual accompanying the test.

The second section of the book focuses on WAIS–IV use and interpretation with special clinical applications and populations, including with multicultural clients, in neuropsychological settings, with individuals experiencing psychological disorders, and with older adults. The editors and chapter authors have exclusive access to proprietary WAIS–IV data to run advanced analyses and provide information beyond what is offered in the WAIS-IV manual.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780123750358
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	05/13/2010
Series:	Practical Resources for the Mental Health Professional
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Lawrence G. Weiss, PhD is Vice President of Test Development for Pearson Clinical Assessment. He oversees a department of 150 professionals and is responsible for all research and test development activities related to the company’s psychological, educational, speech, language, and occupational therapy assessment products as well as post college admissions tests. He also advises on test development activities for the company’s international business partners around the globe including Pearson Clinical Assessment offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, India, China, Spain, and Brazil.

Dr. Weiss has presented widely on intelligence in more than a dozen countries. He has authored or co-authored the following 7 graduate level text books:

• WISC-III Cross Cultural Analyses: Culture and Children’s Intelligence (2003)

• WISC-IV Clinical Use and Interpretation (2005)

• WISC-IV Advanced Clinical Interpretation (2006)

• WISC-IV Clinical Use and Intervention (2008)

• WAIS-IV Clinical Use and Interpretation (2010)

• BAYLEY-III Clinical Use and Interpretation (2010)

• Advanced Clinical Assessment with WAIS-IV and WMS-IV (2013)

Some of his books have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Korean. In addition, he has authored or coauthored approximately 30 journal articles, 12 technical reports, and 10 other book chapters.

Dr. Weiss holds a PhD degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Texas A&M University, and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Trinity University. He lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife of 28 years, Judy Ann. The Weiss’ have two adult sons.

Dr. Donald H. Saklofske is Professor, Department of Psychology at The University of Western Ontario, Visiting Professor at Beijing Normal University and International Research Associate, University of Florence. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Canadian Psychological Association. Don's research focuses on personality, intelligence, individual differences and psychological assessment. He has published more than 300 journal articles, book chapters and books. He is Editor-in-Chief of Personality and Individual Differences and Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment.

Table of Contents

List of contributors xi

Foreword Alan S. Kaufman xiii

Preface xxiii

Part I The WAIS-IV: Development and Foundations

1 WAIS-IV: Advanced in the Assessment of Intelligence Diane L. Coalson Susan Engi Raiford Donald H. Saklofske Lawrence G. Weiss

Introduction 3

Wechsler's theory of intelligence: past and present 4

Structure and content of the WAIS-IV 7

Subtest descriptions 7

Score descriptions 11

WAIS-III to WAIS-IV: what's new? 12

Changes to structure and content 12

Other changes 18

Conclusion 19

References 20

2 Practical Issues in WAIS-IV Administration and Scoring Susan Engi Raiford Diane L. Coalson Donald H. Saklofske Lawrence G. Weiss

Introduction 25

Administration and scoring considerations 26

Verbal Comprehension scale 26

Perceptual Reasoning scale 29

Working Memory scale 34

Processing Speed scale 38

Key prompts 42

Frequently asked administration and scoring questions 42

Conclusion 50

Appendix: What WAIS-III users should know about WAIS-IV 51

References 59

3 Theoretical, Empirical and Clinical Foundations of the WAIS-IV Index Scores Lawrence G. Weiss Donald H. Saklofske Diane L. Coalson Susan Engi Raiford

Introduction 61

The WAIS-IV index scores 63

Verbal Comprehension Index 63

Perceptual Reasoning Index 65

Working Memory Index 68

Processing Speed Index (PSI) 72

Toward a dynamic model of intellectual abilities 75

Analyzing differences among index scores 79

The WAIS-IV Composite Scores 79

General Ability Index (GAI) 80

Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) 81

Issues in estimating overall ability 88

Summary and Comment 90

References 91

Part II The WAIS-IV: Clinical Use and Interpretation in Context

4 WAIS-IV Use in Societal Context Lawrence G. Weiss Hsinyi Chen Jossette G. Harris James A. Holdnack Donald H. Saklofske

Introduction 97

Bias issues in intellectual assessment 98

Demographic differences in various areas of life 102

Racial/ethnic group disparities in education 103

Racial/ethnic group disparities in mental health status 105

Racial/ethnic group disparities in physical health status 107

Racial/ethnic group disparities in income 109

Implications of demographic differences in various areas of life 110

The role of cognitive stimulation in intellectual development 112

Home environment influences on cognitive development 114

The role of the person in the development and maintenance of cognitive abilities 116

Patterns of IQ and Index score differences across racial/ethnic groups 118

SES mediators of FSIQ differences between culturally diverse groups 124

Are there individual mediators of intelligence that are universal? 130

Summary 135

References 136

5 The Flynn Effect and the Wechsler Scales Xiaobin Zhou Jacques Grégoire Jianjun Zhu

Introduction 141

Variability of the Flynn effect 142

What causes the Flynn effect? 143

Current research 146

Research method 147

Samples 147

Analysis 149

Results 152

FSIQ change by ability 152

FSIQ change by gender, education, and age 154

CPI change by ability and demographics 155

Score change in the DAS and the Bayley 158

Discussion 160

The Flynn effect and test construct 161

Is IQ change due to population change? 162

Conclusion 163

References 164

6 WAIS-IV Use in Neuropsychological Assessment C. Munro Cullum Glenn J. Larrabee

Introduction 167

From WAIS-III to WAIS-IV 169

Changes to the WAIS-IV 170

Comparability of WAIS-IV and WAIS-III 172

Implications of changes in WAIS-IV for neuropsychological applications 173

Neuropsychological interpretation of the WAIS-IV 173

Clinical analysis of WAIS-IV scores 174

Test-retest reliability 176

Initial validity studies of WAIS-IV 177

Supplemental analyses of clinical scales 178

Intellectual giftedness and disability 178

Traumatic brain injury 180

Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease 181

Major depression 183

Summary 185

Future research 185

References 186

7 The Wechsler Intelligence Scales in the Assessment of Psychopathology Gerald Goldstein Donald H. Saklofske

Historical introduction 189

Factor analytic studies 192

Schizophrenia 193

Factor analytic studies 196

The schizophrenia spectrum 198

Autism 200

Factor analytic studies 202

Traumatic brain injury 204

Cluster and factor analytic studies 207

Summary 211

References 212

8 Do the WAIS-IV Tests Measure the Same Aspects of Cognitive Functioning in Adults Under and Over Age 65? Timothy A. Salthouse Donald H. Saklofske

Introduction 217

Comparisons of level of performance 219

Reliability 226

Correlations among variables 226

Correlations with other variables 230

Discussion 232

References 234

9 Using WAIS-IV with WMS-IV James A. Holdnack Lisa W. Drozdick

Introduction 237

Overview of WMS-IV 237

Brief history of the Wechsler Memory scale 237

WMS-IV structure 239

Interpretation 241

Combining WAIS-IV/WMS-IV scores 265

Methods for comparing scores 265

WAIS-IV versus WMS-IV comparisons 267

Case studies 269

Probable dementia of the Alzheimer's type - mild severity 269

Mild cognitive impairment 272

Traumatic brain injury 276

Left temporal epilepsy 279

References 283

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From the Publisher

Complete user's guide to using and interpreting the much changed WAIS IV test