Factor structure of the Chinese version of the WAIS-R for Chinese adults in the lowest percentiles of IQ

✍ Scribed by Catherine So-Kum Tang; Bill Hon-Biu Lau; Sonia Suk-Yi Chang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 633 KB
• Volume: 52
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9762
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199605)52:3<345::aid-jclp13>3.0.co;2-i

✦ Synopsis

The Chinese version of the WAIS-R was factor analyzed for a sample of 130 Chinese adults in Hong Kong who had low intellectual abilities. All subtests except the Vocabulary subtest were included for analyses. Results supported a three-factor solution composed of Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Memory/Freedom from Distractibility Factors, as well as a twofactor solution of classic Verbal-Perceptual dichotomy. Comparison of present two-and three-factor structure with individuals having low or normal IQ in Mainland China and North America revealed satisfactory congruence coefficients. However, our general factor accounted for only a small portion of common and total variance (28.5% and 35.3% respectively). Error variances of our subtests were large when compared to normative samples of Mainland China and US. Results were discussed in terms of clinical interpretation of the WAIS-R subtests, danger of using short-forms to assess IQ and need for normative studies of WAIS-R in Chinese-speaking countries.