Significant evidence from the legislation, medical/clinical, or professional practice perspective all points to the advantages and necessity of conducting comprehensive assessment of cognitive abilities, especially in young children, to identify cognitive deficits, arrive at an accurate diagnosis, and establish bases for developing interventions and recommending services. Cross-battery assessment approach provides school psychologists a useful tool to strengthen their preferred cognitive battery by adopting and comparing subtests from other batteries to build up a comprehensive and theoretically sound evaluation of an individual’s cognitive profile to increase the validity of test interpretation. Using joint confirmatory factor analysis, this study explored the combined underlying construct validity of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Third Edition (WJ-III COG) and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5) with an independent sample of preschool children. Seven models were examined and the results showed that relatively, the underlying construct of the two tests was best represented by a threestratum alternative CHC model in which the Gf factor and subtests had been removed. This indicates that not all the CHC constructs shared by both tests can be reliably identified among young children. Constructs of the CHC theory may be represented differently on preschool cognitive batteries due to developmental influences. Although WJ-III COG and SB5 tests as a whole did not demonstrate good results for purposes of cross-battery assessment, certain subtests (e.g., subtests representing crystallized intelligence) from each battery offer interpretative value for individual broad ability factors, providing school psychologists an in-depth understanding of a preschooler’s crystallized knowledge. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted with subtests from WJ-III COG and SB5 representing the four shared broad factors (Gc, Gf, Gv, and Gsm). Results revealed that a 4-factor solution is a better model fit to the data. Future research includes recruiting young children with disabilities or special needs to explore best representative underlying construct of combined WJ-III COG and SB5, allowing for cross-battery assessment. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Psychology

Introduction. A well-recognized problem exists when commonly employed tests developed in the United States (US) or United Kingdom (UK) are accepted unconditionally for use on local relatively disadvantaged populations, as these tests have questionable validity and therefore incur a high risk of misdiagnosis. Cross-cultural normative research has been conducted in South Africa on some of the Wechsler intelligence scales with respect to participants stratified for level and quality of education, age, race and language, including a study on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) for learners with Grade 7 education (age 12 to 23). The aim of the current study was to conduct a partial duplication of the earlier WISC-IV South African norming study that specifically targeted a younger group of educationally disadvantaged children at a lower level of education. Method. Participants were Black Xhosa-speaking Grade 3 learners in the age range 8 to 9 (N =32 ), who were being schooled in the disadvantaged educational setting of the former Department of Education and Training (former-DET) schools. The WISC-IV results of the current study were statistically compared with the WISC-IV results from Shuttleworth-Edwards, Van der Merwe et al. (2013) study. Results. There was a significant lowering of between 20 to 30 IQ points relative to the UK standardisation on WISC-IV scores for this sample of Grade 3 Xhosa-speaking learners, replicating the earlier outcome for Grade 7 Xhosa-speaking learners relative to the UK standardisation. No differences were in evidence within the WISC-IV sample for the female and male participants on any of the indices. There was equivalence between the Grade 3 and Grade 7 Xhosa-speaking learners on all subtest and Index scores with the exception of the Digit Span subtest. Conclusions. The results confirm prior research indications of the negative impact of educational disadvantage on IQ test results and the need for this to be taken into account by the availability of socio- culturally relevant norms.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Despite a widespread perception that the number of children coming to clinical attention with Autism Spectrum Disorders has greatly increased, limited South African Research has been conducted on children with Autism. Thus a need exists to accumulate knowledge about the cognitive, psychological and personalsocial growth of children diagnosed with Autism. This study is aimed at exploring the performance of children with Autism between the ages of 7 years (from 72 months) and 8 years (to 95.9 months), in South Africa (SA), utilising the Revised Extended Griffiths Scales of Mental Development (GSMD). The sample comprised an experimental group of 30 children with Autism from four schools for Specialised Education for learners with Autism in SA, and a control group comprised of 30 “normal” children, where normalcy can be broadly defined as “an absence of any sensory, physical or mental handicap”. The six areas of general development assessed included Locomotor, Personal- Social, Language, Eye and Hand co-ordination, Performance, and Practical Reasoning. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was applied. The major findings of the present study were as follows: (i) Children with Autism (years 7 & 8) showed a characteristic cognitive profile when tested with the revised Extended Griffiths Scales. Their performance indicates lower performance on Subcales B, C and F than on the other Subscales. (ii) Some children with Autism experienced major fall-outs, whereas others were slightly below average. The general performance of children with Autism was, however, in the range “cognitively impaired”. (iii) There was significant difference between the Autistic sample and the normal sample on the GQ. xiv In view of the findings, it is recommended that the results of the study, which focused on the children’s areas of developmental weakness, be widely disseminated. This could facilitate the development of therapeutic programmes, so as to allow for appropriate stimulation for children with Autism.

To constantly add to our understanding of child development, a valid, comprehensive, well-researched measure is needed. The recent revision and standardisation of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales - Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) has necessitated investigations into its psychometric properties. This measure is used to identify developmental delays in children and critical decisions may be made, hence it is imperative that this measure be deemed both reliable and valid. This study aimed to contribute to the broader restandardisation project and focussed on gathering qualitative and quantitative construct-related validity evidence for one of the six Subscales of the GMDS-ER, namely the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale (Subscale D). An exploratory descriptive method using a triangulation approach was used to explore the construct-related validity evidence of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. A non-random purposively selected sample of 6 experts, who had worked at least 10 years with children assessing and evaluating the domain of eye-hand coordination, participated in a facet analysis to identify the underlying dimensions tapped by the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. The sample for the quantitative aspects of this study, the empirical validation of the construct model, was collected as part of the broader restandardisation and represented a stratified sample of 1026 children between the ages 24 months and 96 months from across the United Kingdom and Eire. Three measures, namely a biographical questionnaire, the GMDS-ER and a construct evaluation form were used to gather the qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data was analysed by means of a facet analysis and literature control which included examining other tests or subtests that tapped eye-hand coordination skills. The quantitative data was analysed by means of exploratory common factor analysis using oblique (DQUART) rotation in order to verify the qualitatively identified construct model by specifying a one-factor solution for each underlying construct. While literature suggests that eye-hand coordination is multidimensional in nature the facet analysis revealed that the tasks tapped by Subscale D were not tapping complex skills aside from eye-hand coordination. The facet analysis thus revealed that all the items tap the eye-hand coordination of fine motor tasks and that these items could be grouped into two categories, using writing utensils and object manipulation. The results from the factor analysis confirmed that the items on Subscale D have one underlying construct and further exploration confirmed that these items could in fact be grouped into two categories. The coefficients of congruence for SES and gender were satisfactory and thus the construct model was validated across these groups as well. The study has provided extensive qualitative and quantitative evidence for the construct-related validity of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale of the GMDS-ER, thus validating its use as a sound measure of eye-hand coordination development in children aged 2 to 8 years. The content coverage however, seemed to indicate that the tasks required do not adequately cover all the facets of eye-hand coordination and some of these item types are tapped by the other Subscales in the measure. Hence, should the Subscale be used as an independent assessment of eye-hand coordination, the eye-hand coordination development of the child would have a narrow focus. In addition, in reviewing the variety of tasks in the two sections for the older and younger child, the researcher noted that while section III tapped a variety of skills, section IV only focused on skills associated with drawing, copying and writing. A review of the age appropriateness of the items and the item analysis results from the revision seemed to indicate that some of the items assessing the older child may need to be revised. Further, the researcher suggested that the revision should consider adding additional dimensions to the tasks assessed. Overall, it is the researcher‟s opinion that this Subscale was not given adequate attention during the revision process and should future revisions occur, the recommendations from this study should be considered.

This study was an investigation of profile patterns on WISC-III subtest scores of Canadian gifted children. Profiles of students were compared to core profile types identified by Glutting, McDermott, and Konold (1997) and Konold, Glutting, McDermott, Kush, and Watkins (1999). From the literature reviewed, it was felt that conducting a profile analysis based on empirical research would override some of the criticisms inherent in the practice of profile analysis The sample consisted of 88 children ages 6 through 13 years. Subjects were included who scored at least 120 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III). Sixty of the participants were gathered from Choice School; the remaining 28 were from the Psychoeducational Research and Training Centre at the University of British Columbia. The results of the profile analysis indicated that 34% of the cases were considered to be clinically unique or rare. The profile analysis of the entire sample of Canadian gifted students indicated that a much higher percentage of profiles were considered to be clinically unique or rare when compared to the normative sample. Future research needs to include larger samples of gifted children. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study was concerned with testing two hypotheses frequently made in the interpretation of performance on the Children's Scale. The first hypothesis is that maladjustment is directly related to the amount of scatter and the second stresses that the specificity of maladjustment may be determined by the pattern of successes and failures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which a non-verbal test of intelligence, the Test of Non-Verbal Intelligence (TONI), may be used for assessing intellectual abilities of children in India. This investigation is considered important since current instruments used in India were developed several years ago and do not adequately reflect present standards of performance. Further, current instruments do not demonstrate adequate validity, as procedures for development and cultural transport were frequently not in adherence to recommended guidelines for such practice. Data were collected from 91 normally achieving and 18 mentally retarded Indian children, currently enrolled in elementary schools. Data from an American comparison group were procured from the authors of the TONI. Subjects were matched on age, grade, and area of residence. Subjects were also from comparative socioeconomic backgrounds. Literature review of the theoretical framework supporting cross-cultural measurement of intellectual ability, a summary of major instruments developed for cross-cultural use, non-verbal measures of intellectual ability in India, and issues in cross-cultural research are discussed, with recommended methodology for test transport. Major findings are: (a) the factor scales derived from the Indian and American normally achieving groups indicate significant differences; (b) items 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 22 are biased against the Indian group, though overall item characteristic curves are not significantly different; (c) mean raw scores on the TONI are significantly different between second and third grade Indian subjects; and (d) mean TONI Quotients are significantly different between normally achieving and mentally retarded Indian subjects. It is evident that deletion of biased items and rescaling would be necessary for the TONI to be valid in the Indian context. However, because it does discriminate between subjects at different levels of ability, adaptation for use in India is justified. It may prove to be a more current and parsimonious method of assessing intellectual abilities in Indian children than instruments presently in use.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of intelligence tests when they have been prepared for Anglo-American children and applied to Latin-American children and to find the type of test that is best for Latin-American children.

This study utilized the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and the Personality Inventory for Children, Second Edition (PIC-2) as measures of cognitive and personality functioning for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (FASD/ADHD) and children with ADHD. This study revealed the WISC-IV and PIC-2 each provided unique information to the neuropsychological examination of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD. Furthermore, the FASD/ADHD group and the ADHD group were found to have significant differences in terms of cognitive and personality functioning. The results also indicated the groups could be differentiated using the WISC-IV and the PIC-2 independently with a high degree of accuracy. The current study further elucidated the unique cognitive and personality profiles of children with FASD/ADHD and ADHD and identified key areas of difference between the two groups. Moreover, the current study documented the utility of the Classification and Regression Tree procedure as a useful diagnostic tool in the differential diagnosis of FASD versus ADHD using commonly used cognitive and personality measures. / Department of Educational Psychology