The Relationship Between the WISC-IV PRI and the Executive Functioning Scale of the BASC-2 in Children Referred for Psychoeducational Assessment

This study addressed the question of whether the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) of the Wecshler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003) is a measure of fluid reasoning by correlating the PM and the Executive Functioning Scale of the Behavior Assesment System for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998) in a referred sample. Participants comprised 152 children (109 boys, 43 girls) ranging in age from 6 to 16 years. They were drawn from an anonymous archival database of 931 children who were referred for psychoeducational assessment due to persistent academic concerns, behavioral concerns, or both. Because this was a clinical sample, a check was performed using principal factor analysis to insure the factor structure was the same as that of the WISC-IV standardization sample, which was found to be the case. Also in keeping with the WISC-IV standardization sample, the subtests of the PRI correlated most with one another, although Picture Concepts had a relatively weaker correlation with the PM compared to the correlation between Picture Concepts and PRI in the normative sample. No significant correlations were found between the PM and the BASC-2 Executive Functioning Scale, suggesting little to no relationship. A significant correlation was found between the Executive Functioning Scale of the BASC-2 and the Processing Speed Index (PSI). This study did not provide support for the hypothesis that the PRI is primarily a measure of fluid reasoning. Studies that look at the relationship between the PM and other higher-order cognitive tests, in the context of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, would be a useful direction for future research.