Cross-validation of the WISC-R factorial structure using three-mode principal components analysis and perfect congruence analysis

Abstract

By using three-mode principal components analysis and perfect congruence analysis in conjunction, the factorial structure of the 11 correlation matrices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised was analyzed within a single framework. This allows a unified description showing both the strong similarities between the standardization samples and some small differences related to age. Furthermore, claims about comparability between the WISC-R factorial structure, the structures of other independently conducted studies, and those of several translations of the WISC-R were evaluated. Again the overall similarity was striking, albeit most studies showed lower explained variances. Some age effects seemed to be present here as well. The contribution of three-mode principal components analysis was found to lie primarily in the simultaneous analysis of the standardization samples, while perfect congruence analysis allowed the evaluation of the strengths and the correlations of the common WISC-R components in all studies without encountering rotation problems.