Anomalous Factor Structure of the WISC-R for Diabetic Children

The factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was analyzed with diabetic children (n = 95), regionally and demographically matched control children (n = 97), and an age- and race-matched sample from the WISC-R standardization sample (n = 1,405). Control children exhibited a 3-factor IQ structure, consistent with the standardization sample. Diabetic children exhibited a 4-factor structure, with the Perceptual Organization factor splitting in two. Picture Completion (PC) and Picture Arrangement (PA) formed a visual discrimination factor, and Block Design and Object Assembly created a spatial conceptual factor. Among the diabetic children, the PC and PA subtests did not act as traditional measures of nonverbal intelligence, and their performance on the visual discrimination factor may reflect mild visual atypicalities.