Replication of factor structure of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Chinese version in Chinese mainland non-clinical and schizophrenia samples

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the construct validity of the special four-factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)-III Chinese version in a clinical sample of inpatients with schizophrenia as well as a sample of healthy adults. A sample of 114 inpatients with schizophrenia and a sample of 114 close-matched non-clinical adults on the Chinese mainland were studied with the measures of the WAIS-III Chinese version. Four competing hypothetical models of factors were tested for model fit and parsimony in both research samples, using maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a four-factor model of Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Working Memory, and Processing Speed best fit the data from both the schizophrenia sample and the healthy adult sample, and also fitted the data from both samples better than alternative models, which is similar to that reported by the developers and revisers of this scale. These empiric analyses and results support the construct validity of the WAIS-III Chinese version in patients with schizophrenia and healthy adults on the Chinese mainland.