STABILITY OF THE WAIS-R AND WISC-III FACTOR STRUCTURE USING CROSS-VALIDATION OF COVARIANCE-STRUCTURES

The stability of the Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, an d Freedom from Distractibility factors of the WAIS-R and WISC-III was tested using cross-validation of covariance structure models, a method ology that employs unrestricted and restricted factor analyses. Stabil ity was indicated if the goodness of fit of restricted models generate d from unrestricted factor patterns did not degrade when applied to ot her age groups. If goodness of fit degraded inconsistently, the factor structure of one or both instruments was unreliable. If goodness of f it changed in some systematic fashion, an argument for true intellectu al changes could be made. Results indicated consistency across age gro ups. Therefore, it was concluded that the three-factor structure is ro bust and reliable across age groups and instruments.