PREDICTING PREMORBID FUNCTIONING IN CRACK COCAINE ABUSERS

The Wide Range Achievement Test (Revised) (WRAT-R) reading test, demog raphic variables and drug use severity were used to develop prediction equations to estimate premorbid ability in 99 cocaine abusers. WRAT-R reading was correlated significantly with full scale, verbal and perf ormance IQ. Stepwise regression indicated that only WRAT-R reading sco re and age accounted for 23% of the variance in Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) a nd 28% in Verbal IQ (VIQ). Abstinence and severity of use variables di d not correlate with nor predict IQ. Actual and predicted IQ scores we re correlated significantly and did not differ based on within group I -tests. Thus, these formulas accurately estimate premorbid functioning in cocaine-dependent research patients with FSIQs in the average to l ow average range, replicating the results in normal adults with averag e IQs.