Confirmatory factor analyses of the WISC-IV Spanish core and supplemental subtests: Validation evidence of the Wechsler and CHC models

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition, Spanish (WISC–IV Spanish, Wechsler, 2005a) with normative sample participants aged 6–16 years (N = 500) using confirmatory factor analytic techniques not reported in the WISC–IV Spanish Manual (Wechsler, 2005b). For the 10 core subtest configuration, 1 through 4, first-order factor models, and higher-order versus bifactor models were compared using confirmatory factor analyses. The correlated four-factor Wechsler model provided good fit to these data, but the bifactor model showed statistically significant improvement over the higher-order model and correlated four-factor model. For the 14 core and supplemental subtest configuration, an alternative five-factor model based upon Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC; as per Weiss, et al., 2013b) configuration was also estimated. Results indicated that for the 14 subtest configuration, the alternative CHC model was preferred to the four-factor Wechsler model and the bifactor version of the CHC model also fit these data best. Across both configurations, variance apportionment and model-based reliability estimates illustrate well the dominance of the general intelligence factor when compared to the influence of the various combinations of group factors. Implications for clinical interpretation and the anticipated revision of the measurement instrument are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• bifactor model
• clinical assessment
• intelligence
• model-based reliability
• WISC–IV Spanish

Acknowledgment

A preliminary version of this research was presented at the 10th conference of the International Test Commission, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ryan J. McGill

Ryan J. McGill, PhD, BCBA-D, NCSP, is assistant professor and director of the school psychology program at the College of William & Mary. His scholarly interests include psychological assessment and measurement, judgment and decision-making in applied psychology, and assessment and identification of specific learning disability.

Gary L. Canivez

Gary L. Canivez, PhD, is professor of psychology at Eastern Illinois University. He is a fellow of Division 5 (Quantitative and Qualitative Methods) of the American Psychological Association and an elected member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology. His scholarly interests include applied psychological measurement, individual intellectual assessment, and child and adolescent behavioral assessment.