An evaluation of various WAIS-R factor structures in a psychiatric sample

This report examines the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) in a sample of 229 psychiatric patients from two community mental health centers (ages 16 to 85). One-, two-, and three-factor solutions were evaluated. The robustness of an overall intelligence dimension was supported. The two-factor solution proved more informative and showed both that the Verbal and Performance domains are highly correlated and the presence of a second-order factor that may represent a kind of intellectual orientation or style. The three-factor solution provided the least compelling results and was not seen as a viable representation of the WAIS-R factor structure.