CONSTRUCT-VALIDITY OF WAIS-R FACTORS - NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST CORRELATES IN ADULTS REFERRED FOR EVALUATION OF POSSIBLE HEAD-INJURY

A 3-factor solution of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised ( WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981) in 260 adults with suspected head injury sugge sted relatively good construct validity for the factors, based on corr elations with neuropsychological tests purported to measure similar ab ilities. The Verbal Comprehension factor was related to verbal ability , verbal memory, and executive functioning. The Perceptual Organizatio n factor, although measuring primarily visual-spatial perception and v isual constructional ability, was related to visual-spatial memory, vi sual attention, and executive functioning. The Freedom From Distractib ility factor was correlated with two attention measures and was not as sociated with memory measures. Its association with executive function ing was inconsistent. The findings are discussed in terms of the multi dimensional nature of neuropsychological tests and WAIS-R factors.