Personality Inventory for Children

Abstract

The scores of 70 learning disabled (LD), 47 emotionally disturbed (ED) and 24 intellectually handicapped (IH) children were compared on the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC). The data were submitted to a series of 2 x 2 x 3 ANOVAs. The results indicated that the IH group was differentiated from the others on PIC scales reflecting cognitive weaknesses (Intellectual Screening and Development) and limited reality testing (Psychosis), and that the ED group was discriminated from the LD group on scales which predict general maladjustment (Adjustment) and from the IH group on scales which predict hyperactive behavior (Hyperactivity). When the protocols were analyzed using actuarial guidelines, the majority of children in all three groups showed significant elevations on scales intended to measure cognitive deficits and general maladaptive behavior (e.g. 100 percent of the IH group had significant scores on the Intellectual Screening and Development scales; a similarly high proportion of ED children had marked elevations on the Adjustment scale). It was actually the degree of scale elevation relative to the remaining profile which defined each group.