Structural validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) in a French-speaking Swiss sample

• The standard 4 factor model of the French WISC-IV was compared to a CHC alternative.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the 5 factor CHC model was more adequate.
• Results support the appropriateness of the CHC model with French-speaking children.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—fourth edition (i.e. WISC-IV) recognizes a four-factor scoring structure in addition to the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) score: Verbal Comprehension (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning (PRI), Working Memory (WMI), and Processing Speed (PSI) indices. However, several authors suggested that models based on the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) theory with 5 or 6 factors provided a better fit to the data than does the current four-factor solution. By comparing the current four-factor structure to CHC-based models, this research aimed to investigate the factorial structure and the constructs underlying the WISC-IV subtest scores with French-speaking Swiss children (N = 249). To deal with this goal, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted. Results showed that a CHC-based model with five factors better fitted the French-Swiss data than did the current WISC-IV scoring structure. All together, these results support the hypothesis of the appropriateness of the CHC model with French-speaking children.