Core profile types in the WISC--R national sample: Structure, membership, and applications.

The structure and composition of sub test profile types most representative of the 2,200 6'12- to 16'h­ year-old children comprising the normative sample for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children­ Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) were explored. Profiles were sorted according to similar level and shape using multistage cluster analysis with independent replications. A final solution of 7 core profile types met all formal heuristic and statistical criteria, including satisfactory homogeneity, coverage, replicability, and stability over a I-mo, period. Core types were described according to population prevalence, ability level, and configuration, and each type was examined for membership trends by child demography, family characteristics, and abnormal IQ discrepancies, Methods are given for determining the relative uniqueness OfWISC-R profile patterns in future research and clini­