CONFIRMATORY FACTOR-ANALYSIS OF THE WAIS-R IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Although factor scores are commonly used to interpret the Wechsler Adu lt Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), the WAIS-R factor structure ha s not been investigated in patients with schizophrenia. We used confir matory factor analysis (CFA) to examine five latent construct models i n 169 males with schizophrenia. The WAIS-R standardization sample (age s 35-44; n = 250) was used as a comparison group. For both groups, all model fit indexes used to determine model adequacy supported models c omposed of Verbal Comprehension (VC), Perceptual Organization (PO) and Freedom from Distractibility (FFD) factors. However, the Digit Symbol subtest loaded on both the PO and FFD factors for patients with schiz ophrenia but only on the FFD factor for the WAIS-R standardization sam ple. Patients with schizophrenia performed significantly worse on the FFD and PO factors compared to the VC factor, reflecting the well-char acterized attention and problem solving deficits associated with schiz ophrenia. Also, patients with schizophrenia performed significantly wo rse than the WAIS-R sample on all factors. These results provide suppo rt for the validity of the WAIS-R factors in patients with schizophren ia. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.