Evaluation of seven-subtest short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III in a referred sample

The application of seven-subtest short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-3) was evaluated in a sample of 281 mixed clinical patients from three Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Short-form summary scores were derived from deviation quotient tables and from prorating. They included either Block Design or Matrix Reasoning. Short-form summary scores for Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) and Verbal IQ (VIQ) demonstrated good alternate-forms reliability with the full WAIS-3 scores, whereas Performance IQ (PIQ) summary scores were less accurate. Short forms derived from deviation quotients and prorating did not differ from each other. However, the inclusion of Matrix Reasoning resulted in somewhat better accuracy with WAIS-3 PIQ than did Block Design. The results of this study support the use of the seven-subtest short form of the WAIS-3 in estimating full WAIS-3 summary scores, especially for FSIQ and VIQ.