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Sex Differences in WISC-III Profiles of Children with High-functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders

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Abstract

Using the Japanese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III), 26 girls with high-functioning (IQ ≥ 70) pervasive developmental disorders (HFPDD) (mean age, 8.2 years) were compared with 116 boys with HFPDD (mean age, 9.0 years). Compared with the boys, the girls scored significantly higher on the Processing Speed index, Coding, and Symbol Search, but scored significantly lower on Block Design. Although both groups showed weakness on Comprehension in the verbal domain, the girls’ subtest profile in the performance domain was relatively even and significantly different from the boys’, which was characterized by a peak on Block Design. Such differences should be replicated, and possible behavioral, neurological, and genetic links to these sex differences should be clarified.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by a Research Grant from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and by the Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, Japan Science and Technology Agency. We would like to thank Ms. Yoko Hayashi, Ms. Keiko Shimoyamada, Mr. Hiromi Ishida, Mr. Junichi Yukimoto, Ms. Tomoko Nakano, and Ms. Mika Tobari for their help with data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan

    Tomonori Koyama, Yoko Kamio & Naoko Inada

  2. Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroshi Kurita

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  1. Tomonori Koyama
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  2. Yoko Kamio
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  4. Hiroshi Kurita
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Correspondence to Tomonori Koyama.

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Koyama, T., Kamio, Y., Inada, N. et al. Sex Differences in WISC-III Profiles of Children with High-functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 135–141 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0610-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0610-6

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