INTELLECTUAL COMPETENCE OF CHILDREN WHO ARE BEGINNING INPATIENT AND DAY PSYCHIATRIC-TREATMENT

Intellectual abilities of 300 children with serious emotional disorder s, referred to either psychiatric day- or inpatient-hospital treatment , were compared. Comparisons also were made to WISC-R standardization data. The findings indicated that children referred to inpatient setti ngs were similar in intellectual competency to children in day treatme nt. Also, children with serious emotional disorders did not appear to differ strongly in clinically meaningful ways from the WISC-R standard ization sample, a finding that replicates results of other investigato rs. Three distinct, clinically useful profiles emerged from a cluster analysis of the total group that may be practical in planning educatio nal and therapeutic interventions in treatment settings for seriously disturbed children. The profiles underscored the wide range of intelle ctual abilities represented among these children.