Cognitive Profiling of Children and Adolescents with ADHD Using the WISC-IV
Open accessAbstract
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by cognitive and behavioural impairments. This study aimed to identify cognitive patterns associated with ADHD in a sample of 719 children and adolescents (363 with ADHD and 356 controls) assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). Compared to controls, the clinical group exhibited significantly lower scores in the Working Memory Index (WMI), Processing Speed Index (PSI), and Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI). No significant group differences were found in Verbal Comprehension (VCI) or Perceptual Reasoning (PRI) after controlling for age and sex. Factorial MANOVA results revealed that WMI, PSI, and CPI deficits remained stable across age groups and were more pronounced in males. Females with ADHD outperformed males in PSI. A binary logistic regression model including WISC-IV core indices classified VCI, PRI, WMI, and PSI with a Nagelkerke R2 of 0.44 as significant predictors of group membership, indicating that lower scores in WMI and PSI, and higher scores in VCI and PRI, increased the likelihood of ADHD classification. These findings reinforce the use of the WISC-IV as a complementary tool in the cognitive characterisation and clinical assessment of ADHD in youth.
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The role of the CPI as a predictor of clinical-group membership and a discriminator between presentations makes it a particularly useful indicator when behavioral symptomatology is ambiguous or when discrepancies arise between informants.
“Likewise, the role of the CPI as a predictor of clinical-group membership and a discriminator between presentations makes it a particularly useful indicator when behavioral symptomatology is ambiguous or when discrepancies arise between informants (family-school) [29, 57].”
From ADHD, Subtypes and Cognitive Performance: WISC-V as a Support Tool for Diagnostic Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
Results §§3.2 and 3.6.2 report lower CPI scores in the ADHD group, and the Discussion describes WISC-IV assessment as a complement to subjective parent and teacher observations. But the clinical-group prediction model in §3.5 used WMI and PSI, not CPI as a separate predictor. The paper does not show that CPI discriminates between ADHD presentations or assess its usefulness when symptoms are ambiguous or informants disagree. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredResults showed higher GAI scores and lower CPI scores (GAI > CPI) in ADHD.
“Consistently, the results showed higher GAI scores and lower CPI scores (GAI > CPI) [27, 29].”
From ADHD, Subtypes and Cognitive Performance: WISC-V as a Support Tool for Diagnostic Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
Scores on the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) generally remain within typical ranges in ADHD.
“In contrast, scores on the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), indicators of conceptual reasoning and efficiency in visuospatial processing, generally remain within typical ranges [21, 27, 28, 29].”
From ADHD, Subtypes and Cognitive Performance: WISC-V as a Support Tool for Diagnostic Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
The CPI composite index showed the strongest group difference of all indices examined, consistent with recent studies highlighting its usefulness as a concise summary of cognitive deficits in ADHD.
“Moreover, the CPI composite index showed the strongest group difference of all indices examined, consistent with recent studies highlighting its usefulness as a concise summary of the cognitive deficits typically observed in ADHD [29, 51].”
From ADHD, Subtypes and Cognitive Performance: WISC-V as a Support Tool for Diagnostic Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
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ADHD, Subtypes and Cognitive Performance: WISC-V as a Support Tool for Diagnostic Assessment
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- Authors
- Rosales-Gómez, M., Navarro-Soria, I., Torrecillas, M., López, M. E., & Delgado, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Alicante (ES)
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactics, Faculty of Education, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Behavioral Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2025-09-18
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1279
- ISSN
- 2076-328X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC12467670
- OpenAlex
- W4414312831
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6
- FWCI
- 4.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Behavioral Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cognitive profiling, WISC-IV, working memory, processing speed, verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, sex differences, children and adolescents, ADHD diagnosis
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