Clinical utility of a WAIS-R short form.

Investigated the validity of the Vocabulary-Block Design subtest combination as an estimate of the WAIS-R Full Scale IQ in a sample of 30 psychiatric patients. The correlation between the short form IQ and the WAIS-R Full Scale IQ was highly significant, r(28) = .87, p less than .001. A pairwise t-test computed between the mean IQs for the standard and short form was nonsignificant, t(29) less than 1. One-half of the Ss showed changes in intelligence classification when the short form was used. The short form should not be used when precise IQ estimates are required. However, the short form appears useful as a screening device to discriminate between patients with normal and subnormal intelligence. With respect to the detection of normal vs. subnormal intelligence, the short form achieved a correct classification rate of 87%.