WAIS—R abbreviated forms in the elderly: A comparison of the Satz-Mogel with a seven-subtest short form.

Abstract

The Satz-Mogel abbreviation of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) was compared with a 7-subtest short form (Ward, 1990) in samples of normal and neurologically impaired elderly persons 75 years and older. The normals were 130 subjects from the old-age WAIS-R standardization sample, and the brain-damaged group consisted of 40 men with medically diagnosed brain dysfunction averaging 79.57 (SD = 5.4) years of age. The short forms were highly similar in administration times, correlations with the WAIS-R IQs (all rs > .92), estimation of the average IQ scores, and in classification of intelligence for both the normal and neurologically impaired subjects. Finally, both short forms correctly estimated significant Verbal IQ-Performance IQ discrepancies about 75% of the time.Abbreviated versions of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981) were developed to save time. These measures are particularly useful for elderly patients who fatigue easily or whose attention or motivation may diminish if testing becomes prolonged (Caplan, 1983;Paolo & Ryan, 1991). Short forms fall into two categories: (a) selected subtests (Kaufman, 1990;Silverstein, 1982a;Ward, 1990) and (b) selected items (Satz & Mogel, 1962).Selected-subtest short forms that usually consist of two or more subtests are used as brief screening devices to estimate the Full Scale IQ. If screening indicates a need for additional assessment, the remaining WAIS-R components can be administered to provide a more complete evaluation. Numerous investigations have found high validity coefficients and adequate reliability for these abbreviated forms (

Comparison of two computational formulas for a WAIS-R seven subtest short form

“…Research to date has established that the short form saves a considerable amount of time and has similar psychometric properties to the full WAIS-R. Schretlen, Benedict, and Bobholz (1994) demonstrated that the short form has composite reliability estimates and standard errors of measurement for the estimated VIQs, PIQs, and FSIQs that are nearly identical to the same reliabilities and SEMs for the full form IQs, using the standardization sample as the data source. Moreover, the seven subtest short form has higher correlations with actual IQs, smaller errors in prediction, and sounder psychometric properties than other commonly used short forms (Benedict et al, 1992;Paolo & Ryan, 1993).…”

“…Currently, there are two computational formulas for the seven subtest short form. Ward's (1990) original formula was weighted, whereas Paolo and Ryan (1993) changed the formula to a proration method. The original formula gave differential value to the Information, Similarities, Picture Completion, and Block Design subtests by using the following weightings: Verbal estimated sum of scale scores (Vsum) ϭ 2(Information ϩ Similarities) ϩ Digit Span ϩ Arithmetic, and the Performance sum of scale scores (Psum) ϭ 2(Picture Completion ϩ Block Design) ϩ Digit Symbol.…”

“…The original formula gave differential value to the Information, Similarities, Picture Completion, and Block Design subtests by using the following weightings: Verbal estimated sum of scale scores (Vsum) ϭ 2(Information ϩ Similarities) ϩ Digit Span ϩ Arithmetic, and the Performance sum of scale scores (Psum) ϭ 2(Picture Completion ϩ Block Design) ϩ Digit Symbol. Paolo and Ryan (1993) used the following proration formulas: Vsum ϭ (Information ϩ Digit Span ϩ Arithmetic ϩ Similarities) ϫ 1.5, and Psum ϭ (Picture Completion ϩ Block Design ϩ Digit Symbol) ϫ 1.67. For both formulas, the short form FSIQ sum of scale scores is derived by adding Vsum and Psum.…”

Predicting Neuropsychological Test Performance on the Basis of Temporal Orientation

“…In addition to the TOS, participants were administered an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests, including the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS; Mattis, 1988), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981) seven subtest short form (Paolo & Ryan, 1993), California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 1987), Visual Reproduction I and II (VRI and VRII) and Logical Memory I and II (LMI and LMII) subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R; Wechsler, 1987), Boston Naming Test (BNT; Goodglass & Kaplan, 1983), and Controlled Oral Word Association Test (FAS; Benton & Hamsher, 1976). All examinations were conducted by trained neuropsychology technicians working under the supervision of a licensed doctoral level psychologist.…”

Comparison of NART and Barona demographic equation premorbid IQ estimates in Alzheimer's disease

“…For persons 74 years and younger, sums of scaled scores were computed using Ward's (1990) abbreviation method and IQ conversions were accomplished through the age-appropriate tables provided in the WAIS-R manual (Wechsler, 1981). For persons 75 years and older, seven subtest short form sums of scaled scores were calculated using the procedures outlined by Paolo and Ryan (1993) and IQ conversions were accomplished using WAIS-R elderly norms (Ryan, Paolo, & Brungardt, 1990). Table 1 provides the obtained WAIS-R seven subtest short form IQs and the estimated NART and demographically based premorbid IQs for the control and AD groups.…”