ALSPAC – Age 24 – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) Digit Symbol Coding
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) assessed their cohort members (CMs) during the study’s age 24 sweep (Focus at 24) using a measure of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) Digit Symbol Coding.
Details on this measure and the data collected from the CMs are outlined in the table below.
| Year of data collection: | 2015-2017 |
| Domain: | Non-verbal memory and processing speed |
| Measures: | Visual perception |
| Short-term memory | |
| Motor coordination | |
| CHC: | Gs (processing speed) |
| Gv (visual processing) | |
| CLOSER Source: | Explore this sweep in CLOSER Discovery: ALSPAC Early Adulthood (19 years – 30 years 11 months) (opens in a new tab) |
| Administration method: | Trained interviewer; face to face; clinical setting; pen and paper task |
| Procedure: | Participants were presented with a series of numbers that were each associated with unique symbols. They were then presented with a list of numbers and asked to copy the matching symbols as quickly as possible. A practice trial was administered, and the real test lasted for 120 seconds. |
| Although the WISC-II tasks were developed for children, the digit symbol coding task was deemed still appropriate to use because it does not have a ceiling effect and it was important to use the same tests across the data collection waves in order to track change in cognitive ability over time. | |
| Link to questionnaire: | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/researchers/our-data/clinical-measures/ (opens in a new tab) |
| Scoring: | One point was awarded for each correctly copied symbol within the allotted time. |
| Item-level variable(s): | Not readily available. |
| Total score/derived variable(s): | FKWI1030 (number of symbols correct) |
| FKWI1031 (number of errors) | |
| Descriptives: | FKWI1030 (number of symbols correct): |
| N = 3,968 | |
| Range = 2 – 120 | |
| Mean = 75.9 | |
| SD = 13.444 | |
(click image to enlarge) |
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| Age of participants (months): | Mean = 293.81 months, SD = 9.779, Range = 268.5 – 318.5 |
| Other sweep and/or cohort: | ALSPAC (Focus on Mothers clinic 2; Age 50) |
| ALSPAC (Focus on Mothers clinic 3; Age 52) | |
| ALSPAC (Focus on Mothers clinic 4; Age 53) | |
| Source: | Wechsler, D. (1998). WAIS-III UK administration and scoring manual. London, UK: The Psychological Corporation |
| Technical resources: | None |
| Example articles: | Anderson, E. L., Heron, J., Ben-Shlomo, Y., Kuh, D., Cooper, R., Lawlor, D. A., … & Howe, L. D. (2017). Adversity in childhood and measures of aging in midlife: Findings from a cohort of British women. Psychology and Aging, 32(6), 521-530. |
For the named items in the table above, links are provided to their corresponding content on CLOSER Discovery. Where a variable range is provided, full variable lists can be accessed through the ‘Variable Groups’ tab on the linked CLOSER Discovery page.