The PPVT-R as a measure of psycholinguistic functioning: a caution

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the use of the PPVT-R as a measure of psycholinguistic functioning. The sample included 75 school-aged children referred for evaluation. The mean PPVT-R standard score (94.59, SD = 15.85) was not significantly different (p less than .01) than the WISC-R Full Scale IQ (95.36, SD = 16.29), Verbal IQ (94.36, SD = 16.17), or Performance IQ (97.75, SD = 15.61), or the mean ITPA PLQ. The PPVT-R correlated positively and significantly with the WISC-R Full Scale IQ (.77), Verbal IQ (.71) and Performance IQ (.74) and the WISC-R subtests, with coefficients that ranged from .42 (object assembly) to .69 (vocabulary). In addition, the PPVT-R correlated positively and significantly with the ITPA Psycho-Linguistic Quotient (PLQ) (.72) and the ITPA) subtests, with coefficients that ranged from .38 (auditory sequential memory) to .72 (grammatic closure). Regression analyses determined that the ITPA PLQ and the PPVT-R standard score were not predictive of one another. The data are interpreted to suggest that the PPVT-R is not more appropriately used as a measure of receptive language ability than as a screen for intellectual functioning.