Abstract
Decades of research have demonstrated links between behavioral adjustment and cognitive ability. However, little attention has been given to examining the relations between behavioral adjustment and IQ utilizing the most recent edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (i.e., WISC-IV). The WISC has undergone substantial revisions designed to produce more reliable and valid intellectual profiles. The release of a new edition provides a unique opportunity to revisit questions about IQ profiles and behavior. Consequently, we compared the relations between behavior problems and the WISC-III or WISC-IV. All 290 child participants were referred by their parent for a psychoeducational assessment due to academic concerns. This was a diverse sample. The majority was from a low-income family. Eighty-eight completed the WISC-III; 202 completed the WISC-IV. We found a number of differences between the WISC-III and WISC-IV in their relation to behavior problems, including significant negative relations between WISC-III IQ scores and adjustment scores that did not hold up with the WISC-IV. This may suggest that the WISC-IV is better than its predecessors at estimating IQ independently of behavior problems, which is important when testing clinically referred children. We also discuss alternate explanations and additional factors to consider.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Integrative guide for the 1991 CBCL/4-18, YSR and TRF profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont.
Barkley, R. A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 65–94.
Beebe, D. W., Pfiffner, L. J., & McBurnett, K. (2000). Evaluation of the validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third edition Comprehension and Picture Arrangement subtests as measures of social intelligence. Psychological Assessment, 12(1), 97–101.
Binet, A. (1909). Les idees modernes sur les enfants. Paris: Flammarion.
Blumberg, S. H., & Izard, C. E. (1985). Affective and cognitive characteristics of depression in 10- and 11-year-old children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(1), 194–202.
Brumback, R. A., Jackoway, M. K., & Weinberg, W. A. (1980). Relation of intelligence to childhood depression in children referred to an educational diagnostic center. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 50(1), 11–17.
Campbell, J. M., & McCord, D. M. (1999). Measuring social competence with the Wechsler Picture Arrangement and Comprehension subtests. Assessment, 6(3), 215–223.
Cicchetti, D., & Richters, J. E. (1993). Developmental considerations in the investigation of conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5(1–2), 331–344.
Cole, D. A., Tram, J. M., Martin, J. M., Hoffman, K. B., Ruiz, M. D., Jacquez, F. M., et al. (2002). Individual differences in the emergence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: A longitudinal investigation of parent and child reports. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(1), 156–165.
Cook, E. T., Greenberg, M. T., & Kusche, C. A. (1994). The relations between emotional understanding, intellectual functioning, and disruptive behavior problems in elementary-school-aged children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22(2), 205–219.
Crozier, W., & Hostettler, K. (2003). The influence of shyness on children’s test performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 73(3), 317–328.
Davis, T., Ollendick, T. H., & Nebel-Schwalm, M. (2008). Intellectual ability and achievement in anxiety-disordered children: A clarification and extension of the literature. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 30(1), 43–51.
Dekker, M. C., & Koot, H. M. (2003). DSM-IV disorders in children with borderline to moderate intellectual disability. II: Child and family predictors. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(8), 923–931. doi:10.1097/01.CHI.0000046891.27264.C1.
Duncan, G. J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Klebanov, P. (1994). Economic deprivation and early childhood development. Child Development, 65(2), 296–318.
Einfeld, S. L., & Tonge, J. J. (1996). Population prevalence of psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability: II. Epidemiological findings. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 40(2), 99–109. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1996.tb00611.x.
Evans, M. (1993). Communicative competence as a dimension of shyness. In K. H. Rubin & J. B. Asendorpf (Eds.), Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 189–212). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Farrington, D. P., & Hawkins, J. (1991). Predicting participation, early onset and later persistence in officially recorded offending. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 1(1), 1–33.
Fisher, R. A. (1921). On the “probable error” of a coefficient of correlation deduced from a small sample. Metron, 1, 3–32.
Frazier, T. W., Demaree, H. A., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2004). Meta-analysis of intellectual and neuropsychological test performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychology, 18(3), 543–555.
Giancola, P. R., & Zeichner, A. (1994). Intellectual ability and aggressive behavior in nonclinical-nonforensic males. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 16(2), 121–130.
Glutting, J. J., Oakland, T., & Konold, T. R. (1994). Criterion-related bias with the guide to the assessment of test-session behavior for the WISC-III and WIAT: Possible race/ethnicity, gender, and SES effects. Journal of School Psychology, 32(4), 355–369.
Gordon, M., DiNiro, D., Mettelman, B. B., & Tallmadge, J. (1989). Observations of test behavior, quantitative scores, and teacher ratings. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 7(2), 141–147.
Grant, M. M., Thase, M. E., & Sweeney, J. A. (2001). Cognitive disturbances in outpatient depressed younger adults: Evidence of modest impairment. Biological Psychiatry, 50(1), 35–43.
Hirschi, T., & Hindelang, M. J. (1977). Intelligence and delinquency: A revisionist review. American Sociological Review, 42(4), 571–587.
Hodges, K., & Plow, J. (1990). Intellectual ability and achievement in psychiatrically hospitalized children with conduct, anxiety, and affective disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58(5), 589–595.
Isen, J. (2010). A meta-analytic assessment of Wechsler’s P > V sign in antisocial populations. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(4), 423–435.
Jaggers, C. H. (1934). The relation of intelligence to behavior in school children. Peabody Journal of Education, 11, 254–259.
Kaslow, N. J., Rehm, L. P., & Siegel, A. W. (1984). Social-cognitive and cognitive correlates of depression in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12(4), 605–620.
Kluger, A., & Goldberg, E. (1990). IQ patterns in affective disorder, lateralized and diffuse brain damage. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 12(2), 182–194.
Konold, T. R., Maller, S. J., & Glutting, J. J. (1998). Measurement and non-measurement influences of test-session behavior on individually administered measures of intelligence. Journal of School Psychology, 36(4), 417–432.
Korenman, S., Miller, J. E., & Sjaastad, J. E. (1995). Long-term poverty and child development in the United States: Results from the NLSY. Children and Youth Services Review, 17(1–2), 127–155.
Koskentausta, T. T., Iivanainen, M. M., & Almqvist, F. F. (2007). Risk factors for psychiatric disturbance in children with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 51(1), 43–53. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00871.x.
Kouros, C. D., Cummings, E., & Davies, P. T. (2010). Early trajectories of interparental conflict and externalizing problems as predictors of social competence in preadolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 22(3), 527–537.
Kuentzel, J. G., Hetterscheidt, L. A., & Barnett, D. (2011). Testing intelligently includes double-checking wechsler IQ scores. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(1), 39–46.
Lipsitz, J. D., Dworkin, R. H., & Erlenmeyer-Kimling, L. L. (1993). Wechsler Comprehension and Picture Arrangement subtests and social adjustment. Psychological Assessment, 5(4), 430–437.
Lynam, D., Moffitt, T., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1993). Explaining the relation between IQ and delinquency: Class, race, test motivation, school failure, or self-control? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102(2), 187–196.
Mayes, S., & Calhoun, S. L. (2004). Similarities and differences in Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) Profiles: Support for subtest analysis in clinical referrals. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 18(4), 559–572.
Mayes, S., & Calhoun, S. L. (2007). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Third and Fourth Edition predictors of academic achievement in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. School Psychology Quarterly, 22(2), 234–249.
McKinney, C., & Renk, K. (2007). Emerging research and theory in the etiology of Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Current concerns and future directions. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation And Therapy, 3(3), 349–371.
Moffitt, T. E. (1990). Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: Boys’ developmental trajectories from age 3 to age 15. Child Development, 61(3), 893–910.
Moffitt, T. E. (1993). The neuropsychology of conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5(1–2), 135–151.
Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1988). Self-reported delinquency, neuropsychological deficit, and history of attention deficit disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16(5), 553–569.
Nigg, J. T., Quamma, J. P., Greenberg, M. T., & Kusche, C. A. (1999). A two-year longitudinal study of neuropsychological and cognitive performance in relation to behavioral problems and competencies in elementary school children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(1), 51–63.
Prifitera, A., Saklofske, D. H., Weiss, L. G., & Rolfhus, E. (2005). The WISC-IV in the clinical assessment context. In A. Prifitera, D. H. Saklofske, & L. G. Weiss (Eds.), WISC-IV clinical use and interpretation: Scientist-practitioner perspectives (pp. 3–32). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic Press.
Sattler, J. M., & Hoge, R. D. (2006). Assessment of children: Behavioral, social, and clinical foundations (5th ed.). San Diego, CA: Jerome M. Sattler.
Schonfeld, I. S., Shaffer, D., O’Connor, P., & Portnoy, S. (1988). Conduct disorder and cognitive functioning: Testing three causal hypotheses. Child Development, 59(4), 993–1007.
Sipps, G. J., Berry, G., & Lynch, E. M. (1987). WAIS—R and social intelligence: A test of established assumptions that uses the CPI. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43(5), 499–504.
Speltz, M. L., DeKlyen, M., Calderon, R., Greenberg, M. T., & Fisher, P. A. (1999). Neuropsychological characteristics and test behaviors of boys with early onset conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(2), 315–325.
Wechsler, D. (1974). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1991). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (2003). WISC-IV technical and interpretive manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
Williams, P. E., Weiss, L. G., & Rolfhus, E. L. (2003). Theoretical model and test blueprint (WISC-IV Technical Report No. 1). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
January, A.M., Bartoi, M.G., Kuentzel, J.G. et al. Tell Me More About It: A Query into the Relations Between Intelligence Scores and Problem Behaviors Using the WISC-IV. J Child Fam Stud 24, 2544–2554 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0056-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0056-8