Relationship between psychopathology,learning disabilities,or both and WISC‐III subtest scatter in adolescents

The aim of this study was to determine whether subtest scatter might be an indicator of learning disabilities (LDs), psychopathology, or of both, in a sample of normal adolescents. Subjects completed the WISC‐III and the MMPI‐A and then their scores for the WISC‐III subtests, verbal scatter (VScatter), performance scatter (PScatter), full scale scatter (FScatter) scores, perceptual organisation factor (PO), and the SCAD profiles were calculated. The MMPI‐A was scored and the clinical scales were extracted. The hypothesis that subtest scatter is associated with LDs was generally not supported. There was a relationship between subtest scatter and psychological disturbance in adolescent males, however the results for females were less clear. Further, high PScatter in adolescent males was associated with an MMPI‐A codetype 4‐2/2‐4, indicating tendencies toward depressive features, delinquent behavior, and possibly substance abuse, tendencies which are likely to lead to school failure. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.