WISC-R subtest differences for male and female LD children and youth

Abstract

Investigated the performance on the WISC-R of 98 learning disabled children and youth (69 males/29 females), who ranged in age from 6-3 to 13-6 to determine whether there were any significant subtest scale score differences between sexes. A 2 × 10 analysis of variance was used to analyzed these data. Differences between the individual subtest means were analyzed by using Newman Keuls test for simple effects. Results indicated that males obtained higher (but not significant) scores on the six verbal subtests. Females scored significantly higher on coding than did their counterparts. In addition, the Verbal vs. Performance IQ dichotomy did not appear as useful evidence in the diagnosis of learning disabilities. Evidence from the investigation did not indicate that a significant interaction effect existed between sexes and WISC-R subtest scores.