An Evaluation of the CVLT-II Substitution on the WMS-IV Amongst a Mixed Clinical and Nonclinical Population
Abstract
The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) is one of the most commonly used psychological measures in clinical practice and research. The newly revised fourth edition (WMS-IV) has recently been published, and introduced a novel substitution rule in which scores from the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II) may replace WMS-IV subtest scores for Verbal Paired Associates (VPA) I and II subtests for the ease of administration. Yet, the validity of this substitution remains unclear. The purpose of the paper was to determine if the replacement of CVLT-II scores for WMS-IV scores affects WMS-IV index scores, thus affecting subsequent analyses and diagnostic decision making, within a mixed clinical and nonclinical population. Correlations between the measures and paired t-tests were conducted between the WMS-IV Index Scores with and without the CVLT-II substitution. Results indicated that performance on the Delayed Memory Index (DMI) was indicated to be significantly better when scored using WMS-IV VPA II relative to CVLT-II Long Delay Free Recall. This is theorized to be attributed to the cued-recall paradigm underlying VPA administration, and mandated visual interference tasks on the WMS-IV. The authors suggest that caution should be taken when implementing this score substitution.References
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