An assessment of WISC-IIIUK on children with HIV infection

• Published in: Journal of health psychology Vol. 21; no. 10; pp. 2386 - 2397
• Main Authors: James, Anu Nikitha, Ittyerah, Miriam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.10.2016; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Children; Comprehension; Distraction; Factor analysis; Female; Freedoms; HIV; HIV Infections - physiopathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; India; Infections; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Intelligence - physiology; Intelligence tests; Male; Perceptual organization; Wechsler Scales; neuropsychological effects; intellectual ability; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition UK; HIV infection
• ISSN: 1359-1053; 1461-7277
• DOI: 10.1177/1359105315577118

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Third Edition UK test was administered to groups of children between the ages of 6 and 12 years with vertically transmitted HIV infection (n = 70) and a control group who were not infected by the virus (n = 70). The study was conducted in India. The two groups were matched for general verbal abilities, age and gender. The children were assessed for Verbal IQ, Performance IQ and Full-Scale IQ. The Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Organization Index and Freedom from Distractibility Index were also obtained. A three-factor analysis of variance disclosed that school-age children with vertically transmitted HIV infection notched below in the areas of Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, Full-Scale IQ, Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Organization Index and Freedom from Distractibility Index when collated with normal uninfected cohorts. Findings are discussed in the light of both theoretical and clinical implications.