Independent Validation and Clinical Utility Study of the Hellenic WISC-III Using a Greek-Cypriot Sample

Abstract

The Hellenic WISC-III (Wechsler, 1997) is currently the only standardized and officially published tool for the assessment of the intelligence of children and adolescents in Greece. The test is also used with caution in Cyprus, among Greek speakers, but no specific norms exist for use in this country. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of the qualities of the test using an independent Greek-Cypriot sample and to support its utility in the psychological evaluation of Greek speaking children in Cyprus. The participants were 151 public school children aged 9:1 to 15:8 years. Correlations between the subtests of the WISC-III and the Scale IQs and, also, correlations between scores on the WISC-III and achievement measures as well as the educational level of parents provided evidence of convergent-construct validity. Low correlations between scores on the WISC-III and measures of psychopathology supported the instruments divergent- construct validity. Also, an exploratory factor analysis further supported the construct validity of the test. Moreover, the study provided evidence in support of the predictive validity and clinical utility of the test by examining the cognitive profiles on the Hellenic WISC-III of children with learning difficulties and identifying the WISC-III subscale scores that best distinguish them. This evidence is very important for clinicians in Cyprus but, also, further supports the international evidence about the utility of the Wechsler ability scales.