Gender Invariance And Gender Differences In Intelligence Assessment With The Intelligence And Development Scales

This study investigates measurement invariance across gender and gender differences in intelligence with the Intelligence and Development Scales-Preschool (IDS-P; Grob, Reimann, Gut & Frischkneeht, 2013) and Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS; Grob, Meyer & Hagmann-von Arx, 2013). The IDS-P (3.0 to 5.11 years of age) and IDS (5.0 to 10.11 years of age) assess general intelligence with 7 subtests. This study used the standardization samples with N = 700 for IDS-P and N = 1,330 for IDS (50% boys each). Both scales revealed latent partial measurement invariance on a subtest level and on a general intelligence level. On a manifest level, there were no mean level differences. Some differences occurred in the subtests: Boys scored higher on Abstract Reasoning in both scales, girls scored higher on Selective Attention and Long-Term Memory in the IDS-P. Additionally, no manifest variance differences were found. Results indicate that both scales hold measurement invariance across gender, and therefore provide a fair assessment of intelligence for both boys and girls.