Factor structure of the McCarthy Scales in 7-year-old Spanish children

This study was designed to examine the construct validity of the McCarthy Scales for 7-year-old Spanish children, using factorial analysis. Based on a sample of 128 children with a mean General Cognitive Index of 104 (SD = 15.37), five factors were generated by principal component analysis, and one factor by principal factor analysis. An analysis of congruence between the factorial matrices of 7- and 4-year old children was performed. The degree of similarity of factors between sample was determined by means of a technique of factorial invariance using Tucker's coefficient of congruence. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Factor structure of the McCarthy scales

The purpose of the present study was to test the factor structure of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities in preschool children. Seventy-two boys and 69 girls between 4 and 5 years of age were tested. A factor analysis was carried out by means of the principal components method with varimax rotation. The existence of the Verbal factor and of the Perceptual-Performance factor was confirmed. The Quantitative and Memory factors appear undifferentiated. As far as the subtests which make up the Motor scale are concerned, they do not constitute a single factor. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Factor structure of the McCarthy screening test

The factor structure of the McCarthy Screening Test was investigated with a sample of 555 children. The sample consisted of 300 boys and 255 girls, whose mean age was 61.4 months; approximately 80% were white and 20% were black. The data from the present study and from the MST standardization samples were analyzed by a principal components analysis (with ones in the diagonal) followed by a varimax rotation. The results from the data analysis seem to indicate that the subtests all measure parts of the same attribute (cognitive and sensorimotor functions) in varying degrees.     

Factor structure of the K-ABC for referred school children

Previous factor analyses of the K-ABC for school-age children have offered varying degrees of support for the test, depending on which subtests have been analyzed. Further, most previous analyses have involved only children from the standardization sample. Here, K-ABC scores for 585 school-age children referred for psychological evaluation were factor analyzed. Results of the analysis of K-ABC MP tests were quite consistent with those of previous analyses and with the structure of the test itself. The factor structure of the MP and Achievement tests together was also consistent with previous analyses and, like those analyses, was somewhat less consistent with the theoretical structure of the K-ABC; the factors found could be interpreted from several perspectives. As in analyses of the standardization data, the Achievement tests appear to be better measures of general intelligence for referred children than do the MP scales. Thus, while it appears that the K-ABC factor structure is quite consistent for both normal and exceptional children, the meaning and names of factors found are open to interpretation.     

Replication of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents core syndrome factor structure

Independent examination and replication of the core syndrome factor structure of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA; McDermott, Marston, & Stott, 1993) is reported. A sample of 1,020 children were randomly selected from their classroom and rated on the ASCA by their teacher. The six ASCA core syndromes produced a two‐factor solution through principle axis analysis using multiple criteria for the number of factors to extract and retain. Varimax, direct oblimin, and promax rotations produced identical results and nearly identical factor structure coefficients. It was concluded that the ASCA indeed measures two independent dimensions of psychopathology (Overactivity and Underactivity) that are similar to the conduct problems/externalizing and withdrawal/internalizing dimensions commonly found in the child psychopathology assessment literature (Cicchetti & Toth, 1991; Quay, 1986). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 191–199, 2004.     

A Comparison of three short forms of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities

Three short forms of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) have been developed to screen the cognitive skills of young children suspected of learning disorders and developmental delays. Based on a sample of 40 children between the ages 5–13 to 6–13, correlations of .92, .61, and .72 were obtained between the scores of the children on the full form of the MSCA and the Kaufman, Taylor, and MST short forms, respectively. The Kaufman short form also had the highest test-retest reliability at r = .87. The advantages of the Kaufman short form over the other two short forms are discussed.     

Cross-validation of the factor structure of the McCarthy scales for kindergarten children

This study was designed to cross-validate the factor structure of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities for children 5 to 6 1/2 years of age. A factor analysis was performed on a group of 105 children with a mean General Cognitive Index (GCI) of 115.42. The subjects ranged in age from 4–11 to 6–7 with a mean age of 5–6. The age variable was partialled from each score using multiple regression procedures. Five factors were generated, including Verbal Comprehension, Quantitative-Reasoning, Memory, Perceptual-Performance, and Motor factors. These data were subsequently compared to Kaufman's factor analytic studies with the McCarthy standardization group, and to the scale structure of the instrument. In general, the overall factor pattern of this study provides further evidence of the construct validity of the McCarthy Scales for kindergarten children.     

Preferred social organization of learning formats among pupils experiencing different kinds of internalizing problems in secondary school

The aims of this study were to investigate the dimensionality of internalizing problems among secondary high school pupils and to find out about their preferences for the social organization of learning formats. We wanted to see if preferences varied for pupils reporting different kinds of internalizing problems. Five hundred and one pupils in Grades 8, 9 and 10 (aged 13–16 years) from two secondary schools in a city in the south of Norway participated in the study. The results indicate that internalizing problems can be sub‐divided into symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety and social passive behaviour. We found a high association between symptoms of depression and symptoms of anxiety. However, scores for social passivity showed relatively low associations with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Our results indicated that all pupils with internalizing difficulties had lower than average negative preferences for most of the learning formats. Our results also suggest that depressed pupils have a particularly low preference for individual work, whereas socially passive pupils are most negative about whole class interactions.     

Comparison of learning disabled and general education children on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities

This study examined the diagnostic value of the MSCA in discriminating between learning disabled and general education children. The data were analyzed by several methods, including mean score comparisons, profile analysis, and discriminant analysis. The results indicated that learning disabled children performed differently—1 to 1 1/2 SDs lower—than general education children on the MSCA GCI and on all five major scale indexes. Some consistent differences between the two groups also were revealed at the subtest level. However, in examining the individual MSCA scale index profiles, it was found that a similar amount of scatter was present in the profiles of learning disabled and general education children. Furthermore, no specific pattern of scale indexes could be determined as typical for learning disabled children. These results are seen as not lending the necessary support to the use of MSCA profile as a diagnostic tool in identifying learning disabled children. The present findings are discussed in detail, and several rather consistent trends of performance on the MSCA are identified for learning disabled children.     

The performance of preschoolers with speech/language disorders on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) was used to evaluate the performance of preschool children with speech/language disorders. Preschoolers were screened first for normal intelligence using the Performance scale of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). Preschoolers with speechllanguage disorders had significantly lower scores on all scales of the MSCA (Verbal, Perceptual/Performance, Quantitative, and Memory), except the Motor scale. They also had an average 20-point lower GCI than the control children. An analysis of the scores of the speechllanguage group on subtests revealed difficulty in short- term auditory memory skills but not in short-term visual memory skills. Deficits in categorical thinking skills and verbal expression skills were also evident. Characteriza- tion of learning disabilities in preschoolers with speechllanguage disorders is discussed.     

Concurrent and predictive validity of the WISC-R,McCarthy Scales,Woodcock-Johnson,and academic achievement

Twenty-six normal first-grade children (M = 7.0 years) were administered the WISC-R, the McCarthy Scales, and the Woodcock-Johnson Scales of Cognitive Ability. Two years later, their levels of academic achievement were determined by way of the WRAT and global teacher ratings of classroom performance. Pearson intercorrelations among the summary indices of the three intellectual measures were significant and uniformly high (rang. 77-.95). Correlations between first-grade ability scores and third-grade achievement measures also were significant (range .64-.90), suggesting strong predictive validity for each of the cognitive instruments. Though not significantly so, the correlations between the Woodcock-Johnson and achievement tended to be the highest. The results indicate that all three intellectual measures are appropriate for predicting later academic achievement in young school-aged children.     

A comparison of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities with preschool children

The purpose of the present study was to determine the degree to which performance on the McCarthy Scaies of Children's Abilities correlated with performance on the Stanford-Binet for a group of preschoolers. The sample consisted of 44 children ranging in age from 3–11 to 5–4. It was found that the General Cognitive Index scores of the McCarthy Scales correlated well with the Stanford-Binet IQ scores, r^xy = .90. However, 40 of the 44 subjects scored higher on the Stanford-Binet than on the McCarthy Scales.     

Diagnostic use of the WISC-R and McCarthy Scales: A regression analysis approach to learning disabilities

Thirty learning disabled and 30 nonlearning disabled students were individually administered the WISC-R, McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, and the Wide Range Achievement Test. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the combination of scores from the WISC-R and McCarthy Scales that best predicted the achievement level of the subjects. In addition, the scores that best predicted group status (LD or nonLD) were determined. In general, the WISC-R Comprehension, Arithmetic, and Object Assembly, and the McCarthy Quantitative and Memory Indices were most sensitive to the LD students' achievement. Conversely, the WISC-R Similarities and Arithmetic and the McCarthy Verbal Index were most sensitive to the achievement of nonLD students. Finally, the McCarthy Perceptual-Performance Index and the WISC-R Vocabulary subtest best discriminated group status. The diagnostic implications of these results were discussed.     

Relationship among McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities,WPPSI, and Columbia mental maturity scale

Concurrent validity of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities for 60 kindergartners was investigated, using the WPPSI and Columbia Mental Maturity Scale. Although correlations were of acceptable magnitude, the General Cognitive Index of the MSCA was significantly lower than major scores obtained on the other two tests. Analyses of the different scales of the MSCA are also reported.     

Daily reports of witnessing and experiencing peer harassment in middle school

Two studies examined daily incidents of peer harassment in urban middle schools. Sixth-grade students (M age = 11 years) described their daily personal experiences and witnessed accounts of peer harassment, and rated their negative feelings across a 2-week period. In Study 1 (n = 95), within-subject analyses across 4 days revealed that both personally experienced and witnessed harassment were associated with increases in daily anxiety, whereas witnessing harassment buffered students against increases in humiliation on days when they personally experienced harassment. Evidence for witnessing as a buffer against increases in humiliation and anger was also found in Study 2 (n = 97) that included 5 daily reports. Witnessing harassment also protected students against increases in negative self-perceptions.     

Objectivity of scoring for the McCarthy drawing tests

Two doctoral level school psychologists independently scored 50 McCarthy drawing booklets. Children producing the drawings ranged from 4–6 to 6–10, with a mean age of 5–11. Interscorer reliability for Draw-A-Design was.93 and for Draw-A-Child was.96. No significant difference occurred in the mean score for either test across scorers.