An alternative Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) factor structure of the WAIS-IV: age invariance of an alternative model for ages 70-90.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is by the far the most popular intelligence test for the assessment of adults in clinical and neuropsychological practice. Despite a number of studies examining the factor structure of the WAIS-IV from a Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) perspective (Benson, Hulac, & Kranzler, 2010; Ward, Bergman, & Hebert, 2012), a CHC interpretation of the WAIS-IV for individuals ages 70 and above has been absent from the literature. The exclusion of individuals ages 70 and above in previous research is likely due to the absence of several key supplemental subtests used to create a full CHC model. We provide an alternative five-factor CHC model of the WAIS-IV which includes only the subtests administered to individuals ages 70 and above in the standardization sample. Our results show (a) the alternative CHC model fits the data well; (b) this alternative CHC model met criteria for partial strict measurement invariance across the life span (only Similarities showed noninvariance) using strict criteria; (c) the five factors for ages 70-90 measure the same five CHC broad abilities identified in previous analyses reported for ages 16-69; and (d) the five-factor CHC solution for ages 70-90 is valid for the entire WAIS-IV age range and can be used whenever examiners administer the core battery but opt not to administer supplemental subtests.