Multi-group and hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fifth Edition: What does it measure?

• Published in: Intelligence (Norwood) Vol. 62; pp. 31 - 47
• Main Authors: Reynolds, Matthew R., Keith, Timothy Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01-05-2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Age; Arithmetic; Children; Children & youth; Comprehension; Confirmatory factor analysis; Construct validity; Exploratory factor analysis; Factor analysis; General factor; Intelligence; Intelligence tests; Measurement; Reading comprehension; Short term memory; Spatial ability; Validation studies; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition; Construct validity; Intelligence; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition
• ISSN: 0160-2896; 1873-7935
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2017.02.005

The purpose of this research was to test the consistency in measurement of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) constructs across the 6 through 16 age span and to understand the constructs measured by the WISC-V. First-order, higher-order, and bifactor confirmatory factor models were used. Results were compared with two recent studies using higher-order and bifactor exploratory factor analysis (Canivez, Watkins, & Dombrowski, 2015; Dombrowski, Canivez, Watkins, & Beaujean, 2015) and two using confirmatory factor analysis (Canivez, Watkins, & Dombrowski, 2016; Chen, Zhang, Raiford, Zhu, & Weiss, 2015). We found evidence of age-invariance for the constructs measured by the WISC-V. Further, both g and five distinct broad abilities (Verbal Comprehension, Visual Spatial Ability, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed) were needed to explain the covariances among WISC-V subtests, although Fluid Reasoning was nearly equivalent to g. These findings were consistent whether a higher-order or a bifactor hierarchical model was used, but they were somewhat inconsistent with factor analyses from the prior studies. We found a correlation between Fluid Reasoning and Visual Spatial factors beyond a general factor (g) and that Arithmetic was primarily a direct indicator of g. Composite scores from the WISC-V correlated well with their corresponding underlying factors. For those concerned about the fewer numbers of subtests in the Full Scale IQ, the model implied relation between g and the FSIQ was very strong.
•WISC-V constructs are measured similarly across the 6–16-year age range.•g and five broad ability factors account for subtest covariances.•Our CFA findings diverged from EFA research.•g is measured strongly in the new 7 subtest FSIQ.