This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gussin, B. Articles by Javorsky, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Utility of the WISC-III Freedom from Distractibility in the Diagnosis of Youth with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Psychiatric Sample

Brian Gussin, Wayne State University

James Javorsky

James Javorsky, Purdue University

The "Freedom from Distractibility" (FD) or the Third Factor of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children—Revised (WISC-R), has been used to discern attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from other childhood disorders. This study expands the current research by examining the utility of the Third Factor of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-III (WISC-III) to differentiate between youth with and without ADHD who are hospitalized at an acute-care psychiatric hospital. There were no significant differences between subjects with and without ADHD on the Third Factor solutions of the WISC-III. The WISC-III FD was not a valid discriminator of psychiatric disorder (affective versus disruptive disorders) or ADHD diagnosis. While these findings question the utility of the Third Factor in the diagnosis of ADHD, the WISC-III FD may be, as described by Kaufman (1994) "a land mine that explodes on a diversity of abnormal populations" (p. 213).

Assessment for Effective Intervention, Vol. 21, No. 1, 29-42 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/153450849502100105


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?