This project expanded the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) normative tables for the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs and age-corrected subtest scores to persons 75 years and older. A sample of 130 normal volunteers was selected according to 1983 census data on the variables of age, education, sex, and race. Means for age and education were 81.24 years (SD = 5.24) and 9.54 years (SD = 2.50). There were 74 White women, 42 White men, 9 Black women, and 5 Black men. Subjects lived in the states of Kansas (60.7%), Missouri (34.6%), and Iowa (4.6%), with 90% residing in urban centers, and 10% in rural communities. All subjects were administered a complete WAIS-R by trained examiners. On the basis of the raw scores, Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ conversion tables were developed separately for persons 75 to 79 years of age (n = 60) and 80 years and older (« = 70). Conversion tables (M = 10; SD = 3) for age-corrected scaled scores were also developed for both age groups. 404This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

We factor analyzed the WAIS-R protocols of 130 normal elderly. For age and education, Ms = 81.24 years (SD = 5.24) and 9.54 years (SD = 2.50) . Results indicated that the WAIS-R may be interpreted as a 1-, a 2-, or a 3-factor battery. In the 1-factor solution, interpretative emphasis was placed on the Full Scale IQ as a measure of g. In the 2-factor solution, a Verbal Comprehension factor consisted of Information, Digit Span, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Similarities. A Perceptual Organization factor comprised Block Design, Object Assembly, and Digit Symbol. In the 3-factor solution, the subtest alignments for the Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization factors remained highly similar, whereas Arithmetic constituted a Freedom From Distractibility factor. Overall, 1- or 2-factor models seem to offer the most plausible and parsimonious structures for this sample. 7 subtests had high or intermediate levels of specific variance.

In a sample of 226 normal elderly persons the order of item difficulty for the WAIS-R Picture Arrangement subtest was examined. Means for age and education were 80.8 yr. (SD = 5.2) and 10.9 yr. (SD = 2.9), respectively. The current order of items does not conform to the expectation of increasing difficulty. When testing elderly persons, intrasubtest scatter on Picture Arrangement should not be used to infer pathology.

Reliability of the WAIS-R for a sample of 226 normal elderly volunteers was determined. Subjects were divided into three age groups: 75 to 79, 80 to 84, and 85 and older. For each group, internal consistency estimates and standard errors of measurement (Sem1), estimation (Sem2), and prediction (Sem3) were calculated for the IQs and subtests. Vocabulary (.96 to .92) was consistently the most reliable subtest, while Picture Arrangement (.71 to .54) and Object Assembly (.74 to .56) were the least reliable. The summary scores were highly reliable, with coefficients for the Verbal Scale that ranged from .97 to .95, for the Performance Scale from .92 to .89, and for the Full Scale from .97 to. 96. It was concluded that the WAIS-R is a reliable instrument for evaluating elderly subjects.

In a sample of 226 normal elderly persons the order of item difficulty for the WAIS—R Picture Arrangement subtest was examined. Means for age and education were 80.8 yr. ( SD = 5.2) and 10.9 yr. ( SD = 2.9), respectively. The current order of items does not conform to the expectation of increasing difficulty. When testing elderly persons, intrasubtest scatter on Picture Arrangement should not be used to infer pathology.