Beyond the floor effect on the WISC‐IV in individuals with Down syndrome: are there cognitive strengths and weaknesses?

Background Individuals with Down syndrome generally show a floor effect on Wechsler Scales that is manifested by flat profiles and with many or all of the weighted scores on the subtests equal to 1. Method The main aim of the present paper is to use the statistical Hessl method and the extended stat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of intellectual disability research 2018-07, Vol.62 (7), p.593-603
Main Authors: Pezzuti, L., Nacinovich, R., Oggiano, S., Bomba, M., Ferri, R., La Stella, A., Rossetti, S., Orsini, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Cognitive impairment
Comprehension
Down Syndrome
floor effect
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests
Raw Scores
Short Term Memory
Statistical Analysis
Statistical methods
Transformation
Variability
Weighted Scores
WISC‐IV
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Summary:Background Individuals with Down syndrome generally show a floor effect on Wechsler Scales that is manifested by flat profiles and with many or all of the weighted scores on the subtests equal to 1. Method The main aim of the present paper is to use the statistical Hessl method and the extended statistical method of Orsini, Pezzuti and Hulbert with a sample of individuals with Down syndrome (n = 128; 72 boys and 56 girls), to underline the variability of performance on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children‐Fourth Edition subtests and indices, highlighting any strengths and weaknesses of this population that otherwise appear to be flattened. Results Based on results using traditional transformation of raw scores into weighted scores, a very high percentage of subtests with weighted score of 1 occurred in the Down syndrome sample, with a floor effect and without any statistically significant difference between four core Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children‐Fourth Edition indices. The results, using traditional transformation, confirm a deep cognitive impairment of those with Down syndrome. Conversely, using the new statistical method, it is immediately apparent that the variability of the scores, both on subtests and indices, is wider with respect to the traditional method. Conclusion Children with Down syndrome show a greater ability in the Verbal Comprehension Index than in the Working Memory Index.
ISSN:0964-2633
1365-2788
DOI:10.1111/jir.12499