The Freedom-From-Distractibility Factor: an Examination of Its Adaptive Behavior Correlates

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the name Freedom from Distractibility, commonly assigned to the third factor usually found on the Wechsler intelligence scales. The WAIS scores of 111 mentally retarded individuals were submitted to a factor analysis, and the resulting factors were correlated with these subjects' scores on the Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS). It was hypothesized that if this factor was really a measure of attention, then, compared to the other factors, it should show (a) a stronger relationship with the Hyperactive Tendencies domain of the ABS, (b) a lower correlation with the cognitive domains of the ABS, and (c) a lower correlation with the general factor extracted from the WAIS. The results failed to support any of these hypotheses. It was concluded that Freedom from Distractibility may be a misnomer. This factor appears to be tapping a more cognitive factor, perhaps memory or some aspect of numerical ability.

Construct validity of WAIS—R factors: Neuropsychological test correlates in adults referred for evaluation of possible head injury.

“…Feinberg & McIlvried (1991) found that attention tasks (such as a vigilance task and a cancellation task) were moderately correlated with the Freedom From Distractibility factor in people with chronic schizophrenia. On the other hand, other research suggests that the Freedom From Distractibility factor was not related to behavioral indices of hyperactivity, a behavior presumably related to some extent to attention control, in a sample of adults with mental retardation (Rofskowski, 1983). The evidence for an association between the Freedom From Distractibility factor and executive functioning is also conflicting.…”

“…Although numerous studies have delineated the factor structure of the WAIS-R using the standardization sample and various clinical groups (for a review, see Kaufman, 1990, andSattler, 1992), the construct validity of the factors has been less rigorously studied.Studies of the WAIS-R have typically identified a Verbal Comprehension factor consisting of the Vocabulary, Information, Comprehension, and Similarities subtests, and a Perceptual Organization factor, consisting most frequently of Block Design, Object Assembly, Picture Completion, and in some analyses, Picture Arrangement. The third factor in three-factor solutions, Freedom From Distractibility, usually consists of Arithmetic and Digit Span (Parker, 1983), and less consistently, Digit Symbol (Kaufman, 1990;Roszkowski, 1983).Consensus on the most stable factor structure for the WAIS-R has largely wavered between the two-and three-factor solutions. Leckliter, Matarazzo, and Silverstein (1986) concluded that the derivation of two-factor versus three-factor solution was…”

“…Studies of the WAIS–R have typically identified a Verbal Comprehension factor consisting of the Vocabulary, Information, Comprehension, and Similarities subtests, and a Perceptual Organization factor, consisting most frequently of Block Design, Object Assembly, Picture Completion, and in some analyses, Picture Arrangement. The third factor in three-factor solutions, Freedom From Distractibility, usually consists of Arithmetic and Digit Span (Parker, 1983), and less consistently, Digit Symbol (Kaufman, 1990; Roszkowski, 1983).…”

“…Leckliter, Matarazzo, and Silverstein (1986) concluded that the derivation of two-factor versus three-factor solution was more a function of the statistical approach employed than a reflection of the cognitive processes measured by the WAIS–R. However, three-factor solutions are most reliably obtained in analyses of pathological populations (Kaufman, 1990; Kowalski & Rossini, 1990; Roszkowski, 1983). The three-factor solution may also provide the richest source of hypotheses on the individual's cognitive functioning (Kaufman, 1990; Leckliter et al, 1986), an advantage in the clinical setting over more parsimonious factor models.…”

“…The Freedom From Distractibility factor has been alternatively conceptualized as reflecting attention (Beck et al, 1989; Cohen, 1952), memory (Cohen, 1957; Roszkowski, 1983), numerical ability (Beck et al, 1989; Lansdell & Donnelly, 1977; Roszkowski, 1983), and affective state (Piedmont, Sokolove, & Fleming, 1992). Based on their work with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (Wechsler, 1974), Ownby and Matthews (1985) and Wielkiewicz (1990) have proposed that the Freedom From Distractibility factor measures aspects of short-term memory and executive functioning.…”