WAIS performance differences of male and female psychiatric patients.

This study compared the WAIS IQ and subtest scores of 167 male and 112 female patients of a heterogeneous psychiatric population. Males obtained significantly higher Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores than did females, and significantly more male than female patients obtained Full Scale scores above the Average classification of intelligence (IQ is greater than or equal to 110). These data suggest that relatively high intelligence levels and, in particular, IQ scores above the Average classification are more effective to reduce the observed incidence of behavioral disorders among females than among males, perhaps because differing societal demands result in less effective coping behaviors at given levels of intelligence for males than for females. This explanation also is consistent with the significant overrepresentation of males in this clinic sample relative to their proportion in the general population. Further work at other facilities would help to determine the generality of these findings and to clarify their interpretation.