Magnitude and direction of WISC-R verbal-performance IQ discrepancies among adjudicated male delinquents

A field study is reported in which the discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal skills among 150 adjudicated male delinquents was assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) and evaluated with respect to three interpretations of the observed differences. Alternative explanations were that the verbal-nonverbal disparity among delinquents (a) represented a group-by-test interaction producing unusually large discrepancies, (b) was a function of intelligence level of the sample, and (c) was no more frequent among delinquents than nondelinquents when socioeconomic status (SES) was controlled. Results indicated that the WISC-R Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancy occurred reliably more often among delinquents than among controls. Individual differences within the two groups could be attributed neither to a group-by-test interaction, SES, or intelligence level. It was concluded that cognitive mediators of delinquent behavior differ mainly in degree form those of non-delinquents, and intellectual asymmetry is a concomitant variable significantly associated with delinquent behavior.