Validity of demographically corrected norms for the WAIS-III.
The diagnostic validity of new demographically corrected WAIS-III norms was investigated using a sample of 100 patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a matched control group from the standardization sample. Demographically corrected norms were compared to traditional age-corrected norms. Although education accounted for incremental variance in WAIS-III factor scores in patients with TBI, above and beyond the effects of injury severity, the demographically corrected norms did not yield statistically different diagnostic classification of individuals with moderate-severe TBI than the traditional norms. In participants with relatively low levels of educational attainment, sensitivity to length of coma was less for demographically corrected norms then for traditional age-corrected norms. Nevertheless, when using a discrepancy between Verbal Comprehension and Processing speed, diagnostic accuracy rates were again similar for both sets of norms. It is concluded that the demographically corrected WAIS-III norms do not offer a clear advantage or disadvantage compared to traditional age-corrected norms in the assessment of patients with TBI who are Caucasian and who have at least a middle school level of education.
Strong
Carrie-Ann H
CA
Mary Free Bed Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA.
Donders
Jacobus
J
van Dyke
Sarah
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011930:Reaction Time; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*