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The WISC-V is a widely used scale in clinical and educational settings in Chile. Given that its use guides critical decision-making for children and adolescents, it is essential to have evidence of its psychometric properties, including validity based on internal structure. This study analyzed the factor structure of the WISC-V through an exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) approach considering the age range of 853 children and adolescents between 6 and 16 years. We obtained evidence favoring the four-factor structure in the EFA, which is a clearer organization in the 15–16 age group. In the confirmatory stage, the best four- and five-factor models showed factor loadings greater than 0.4, except for one subtest in the processing speed domain in the 6–8 age group. The internal consistency ranged from acceptable to good estimates for the best two models. The results support the use of hierarchical factor structures of four and five factors, which offer specific advantages and disadvantages discussed in the article. The implications of these findings in both the professional area of psychology and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Given the scarcity of antecedents, this study set out to investigate, from a mainly quantitative approach, four aspects of the use of tests by Chilean psychologists: usage characterization, the most frequently used tests, psychometric quality, and perceived problems and attitudes. A purposive sample of 381 psychologists (71.7% female, Mage = 41.35 years) answered an online survey that addressed the previously mentioned aspects. The data were examined by descriptive and inferential statistical analyzes. In addition, a qualitative systematic review of the literature on psychometric foundations (reliability, validity and/or normative references) of the usual employment tests in Chile was carried out. The main finding revealed that 15 of the 20 most frequently used tests do not have evidence to support their psychometric quality in Chilean populations. Other results show that the use of tests is a widespread practice in the psychology profession, oriented to clinical evaluation, focused on adolescents and adults, and carried out through a few tests that are repeated in the different professional fields, having a majority presence of projective techniques. The discussion focuses on the failure to observe basic requirements for a proper use of tests and its eventual consequences. Possible explanations for this professional proceeding arise and proposals are offered aimed at improving good practices in the use of psychological tests, pointing out, among others, the strengthening of the training of test users and the adoption of restrictive and formative strategies to favor the correct use of tests in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Chile, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC-R and WISC-III) has been used massively in the urban and rural school populations, without having studies on its psychometric adjustment in the rural group. The present study explored the psychometric properties (evidence of internal structure validity and internal consistency) of the WISC-V in rural schoolchildren. An intentional non-probabilistic sample of 160 students between 6 and 16 years of age belonging to 4 educational establishments in the Maule region and 9 in La Araucanía, was evaluated. Three factorial models composed of 7, 10 and 15 subtests were tested. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis show adequate fit indices in these three models, consistent with the theoretical proposal by the author of the scale and especially better for the models with 7 and 10 primary subtests. Regarding reliability, adequate levels of internal consistency are observed, ranging between acceptable and good, in all the subtests in which this indicator could be calculated. Based on these results and for interpretive purposes, the use of the model composed of 10 primary subtests and the CIT as an estimator of general cognitive functioning in the Chilean rural population is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -- Fifth Edition is the most recent update to this scale, launched originally in 2014 in the United Stated. WISC-V includes several improvements from previous versions, such as an updated factorial structure that includes more indexes, new process scores and new procedures for norming. These improvements are particularly relevant in the Chilean context, since the previous version available in the country was the WISC-IIIv.ch, whose factorial structure dates from 1991, although it was standardized for Chilean population in 2007. This article presents the standardization process for the WISC-V, which includes the translation, adaptation and norming procedures for the Chilean population. It includes evidence for reliability and validity, and also results for various special groups samples, such as intellectual disability (24), attentional deficit disorder with hyperactivity (27), autism spectrum disorder (26), specific language disorder (56) and rural population (47). The Chilean data shows excellent reliability results and an excellent adjustment to the factorial model used in the North American version. This research provides evidence for convergent validity between WISC-V and other versions of these scales, such as the WAIS-IV and the WISC-IIIv.ch. Finally, we perform a comparison between private, voucher and public schools using this scale and a comparison between male and female performance in this scale. The main finding of this research is that the Chilean standardization of the WISC-V has excellent psychometric properties that allow recommending the use of this instrument in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]