Validity of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and Other Very Short Forms of Estimating Intellectual Functioning

Abstract

Performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—III (WAIS-III) was compared to performance on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), as well as short form estimations of intellectual functioning derived from WAIS-III performance, in a mixed clinical sample of 72 participants. The WASI verbal IQ (VIQ) score was significantly higher than the WAIS-III VIQ, whereas performance IQ (PIQ) estimates all differed from actual WAIS-III PIQ and full scale IQ (FSIQ). Correlations of WAIS-III scores with WASI scores were consistently lower than were correlations between the WASI-III and all other short forms. Although maintaining administration times of 15 minutes for a two-subtest FSIQ and 30 minutes for a four-subtest FSIQ, the WASI did not consistently demonstrate desirable accuracy in predicting scores obtained from the WAIS-III. The results suggest that clinicians should use the WASI cautiously, if at all, especially when accurate estimates of individuals’WAIS-III results are needed.