Chronological Age and Performance of Persons with Mental Retardation on Verbal Subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, French Version

Abstract

The influence of chronological age on verbal intelligence of persons with mental retardation was studied using the French version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Participants were 1,101 children and adolescents divided into two groups according to the severity of mental retardation. The first group included 551 participants with moderate mental retardation, the second 550 participants with mild mental retardation. Analyses indicated a significant association between chronological age and raw scores on the four Verbal Comprehension subtests, even with performance on Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility subtests held constant. This finding suggests the relationship between chronological age and verbal intelligence is valid for persons with moderate mental retardation as well as for those with mild mental retardation.