1. Discrepancies Across Spanish Versions of the WAIS-III Regarding Administration Order Brooke E. Leonard1, Andrea M. Mejia1, Julia C. Daugherty1, Margie Hernandez-Mejia2, Antonio E. Puente1 (1University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2University of California San Diego )
Introduction
Descriptives
Discussion
A common misconception is that Hispanics look, talk and act alike. However, there is an immense diversity in their cultures and, surprising to most, their language (Kanellos & Fabregat 1993).
Most neuropsychological tests that are available in Spanish are:
poorly translated
not culturally adapted to the population being studied
There is a fundamental need to properly adapt testing that will provide true measures of neuro- functioning in Hispanics in line with Standards for Psychological testing (AERA, 2014).
In a prior study (Hernandez-Mejia & Puente, 2013) the three Spanish versions of the WAIS-III were compared. One of the phases of this study specifically focus on comparing the Similarities and Digit Span Subtests between versions.
Table 1. Descriptives of participants form Mexico (N=60)
Spaniard 1st
n=18
Spaniard 2nd
n=24
Spaniard 3rd
N=18
Stat. p
Age
[Mean (SD)]
40.61 (9.25)
39.0 (12.05)
40.61 (11.78)
F= .071
.932
Gender [n. (%)]
χ2= .180
.914
Male
6 (33.3%)
8 (33.3)
5 (27.8%)
Female
12 (66.7)
16 (66.7)
13 (72.2%)
Education [n.(%)]
χ2= 8.581
.379
0-6 years
11 (45.8%)
12 (66.7%)
7-9 years
4 (22.2 %)
7 (29.2%)
1 (5.6)
10-12 years
6 (33.3 %)
4 (22.2%)
13-16 years
2 (11.1%)
1 (4.2%)
1 (5.6%)
16+ years
0 (0%)
Prior studies found that Mexican-born individuals scored significantly higher on Mexican Similarities Subtest than on the Puerto Rican and Spaniard versions.
However, overall, Central American-born individuals had better raw scores than Mexican-born individuals.
As would be expected after the randomization process, there was no significant differences between the groups in regard to age, Gender distribution and educational level (Table 1).
The average score on the Similarities Subtest (Table 2) showed no statistically significant difference between the three groups.
Our results showed that the differences in the wording and lack of feedback present in the Spaniard version were not drastic enough to cause a decrease in performance in the Similarities Subtest for the Mexican participants.
The sample for this study was taken from a larger sample of 107 Hispanic participants (N=60).
The average age was years, more woman than men participated (68%) and the almost half the sample had a low educational level (48.3% had 0-6 years of education).
Method
Spanish 1st
SMP
SPM
Participants were volunteers and were recruited from local community facilities (i.e. Health Clinic, Church, and a Hispanic center).
Inclusion Criteria:
Spanish-speaking individuals
Ages between18 and 65
Born in either Mexico or Central America.
The three versions of the Similarities Subtest were administered in a counter-balanced fashion to each participant.
For this study only Mexican participants data were used.
Mexican-born participants were grouped based on the order in which they received the Spaniard version of the Similarities subtest: Spaniard first, second, or third (See Figure 2)
Spanish 2nd
PSM
SMP
Conclusions & Future Directions
Although the order of administration of the Spanish version of the Similarities subtest did not decrease scores, there is still a lot to learn from this data set.
Some possible limitations to the study include the effect size being relatively small, the range in education levels, and the gender distribution.
Future directions:
Increase statistical power by expanding the sample size.
Perform different statistical approaches to further explore the influence of the order of administration.
Spanish 3rd
PMS
MPS
Figure 1. Hispanics in the U.S. by Origin – U.S. Census Bureau
Objective
The Wechsler’s Adult Intelligence scale, 3rd version (WAIS-III) is translated into three Spanish versions: Puerto Rican, Mexican and Spaniard.
For the Similarities Subtest, the Puerto Rican and Mexican versions offer more detailed instructions and feedback than the Spaniard version, potentially priming the participants and increasing their average scores.
Figure 2. Order of Administration of Similarities Subtest by group
Results
References
Table 2. Mean scores in the Similarities Subtest and Between groups comparison based on Order of Administration of Spaniard Version
Spaniard 1st
Spaniard 2nd
Spaniard 3rd
Stat. P
Mean
(SD)
8.72
(5.62)
7.90
(5.50)
7.29
(3.94)
F= .351
.706
Kanellos, N., & Fabregat, C. E. (1993). Handbook of Hispanic cultures in the United States. Houston, TX: Arte Público Press.
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, Joint Committee (2014). The standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: AERA.
Hernandez-Mejia, M. & Puente, A.E. (2013). Comparison of the English and Spanish version’s of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Third Edition. (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC.
No significant difference was found regarding Age, Gender and Education between the three groups.
The groups did not show significantly different scores in the Similarities Subtest of the WAIS-III (Table 2)
The aim of this study was to compare the average score in the Similarities subtest depending on the order of administration of the Spaniard version.