Factor structure of the McCarthy scales for males and females

Determined the factor structure of the McCarthy Scales (1972) for a referred group of male and female children, ages 6 to 81/2, from rural eastern North Carolina and compared their factor structure to that of the standardization sample. Three hundred and one males and 177 females were separated into two groups and examined independently. The 21 individual test scores of the McCarthy were correlated and then subjected to a principal factor analysis followed by Varimax rotation. Three meaningful factors emerged for males and females: Verbal, Perceptual, and Motor factors for males and General-Cognitive, Verbal, and Memory factors for females. The factor analyses for males and females agreed with previous factor analytic studies conducted with referred samples on the absence of a Quantitative factor and inconsistencies in the emergence of General-Cognitive and Memory factors. Coefficients of congruence with Kaufman's (1975) standardization analysis suggest that the McCarthy Scales reflect a general dimension of cognitive ability rather than a measure of distinct abilities for a referred sample of males and females.