Thirty years of ADHD and WISC in scientific research: A systematic review of cognitive profile and index discrepancies

Abstract

Several decades have passed since the initial exploration of the cognitive profile of ADHD using the WISC. Since then, the scientific evidence on the topic has grown and evolved, at times being contradictory. Therefore, it is considered valuable to collect, analyze, compare, and synthesize the findings from the past 30 years. A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The sources of information included the WoS, Scopus, PsycInfo, and MedLine databases, and the search terms applied were: (ADHD OR 'attention deficit' OR hyperactive*) AND (WISC*). Some of the inclusion criteria were: Participants were males and/or females aged between 6 and 16 years, formally diagnosed with ADHD, and assessed using the WISC-IV and/or the WISC-III. A total of 27 high-quality studies, with 6,486 participants across them, published up to September 2024, were analyzed. The systematic review, supported by a simple complementary statistical approach, suggests a cognitive profile characterized by higher scores on VC and PR/PO and lower scores on WM/FFD and PS. The index discrepancies that arise from comparing VC and PR/PO scores with WM/FFD and PS scores range from five to ten points. For the assessment of ADHD, as a complementary tool to the observation scales, it could be useful to use the WISC, examine the cognitive profile and index discrepancies, always with careful interpretation by an experienced professional in the field of psychology, psychopedagogy, psychiatry or neuropsychology.