Abstract
BackgroundThe Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is widely used to quantify autistic traits, which have been evaluated in the parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and in the general population. This paper’s objective was to investigate the AQ's psychometric properties of the Chinese version for mainland China and to establish whether the pattern of sex differences in the quantity of autistic traits exists. We also examined the usefulness of the AQ in differentiating between individuals with ASD, schizophrenia (SCH), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls (HC).MethodsIn this study, the psychometric properties of the AQ were assessed in 1037 parents of children with ASD and in 1040 parents of typically developing children (TDC). Additionally, 32 participants with ASD, 37 patients with SCH, 38 OCD patients and 38 healthy controls (matched for age, gender and IQ) were assessed with the AQ.ResultsThe internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the AQ and AQ subscales were within an acceptable range. Parents of ASD children scored higher than TDC parents on total AQ and AQ subscales, and TDC parents scored more than parents of ASD children on 2 items of 50. Fathers scored higher than did mothers on total AQ and four subscales, with the sole exception being the subscale attention to detail. The total AQ score of the ASD group was higher than that of the SCH, OCD and HC groups, and the total AQ score of the HC group was significantly lower than that of the SCH and OCD groups, with no differences being observed between the SCH and OCD groups.ConclusionsThe Mandarin AQ demonstrated promising psychometric properties and was a reliable instrument for quantifying autistic traits in both clinical and non-clinical samples in mainland China.
Highlights
The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is widely used to quantify autistic traits, which have been evaluated in the parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and in the general population
typically developing children (TDC) parents had a lower Total AQ score compared to parents of ASD children; this difference was significant, t = 10.89, P < 0.001
It’s worth mentioning that intraclass correlation for total AQ scores between fathers and mothers was statistically significant in ASD family (r = 0.14, p = 0.002), suggestive of the presence of assortative mating
Summary
The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is widely used to quantify autistic traits, which have been evaluated in the parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and in the general population. The concept of the autistic spectrum, originally conceived as a gradient of severity within the clinical range, has been extended to a continuum of autistic traits in the general population [3,4,5] This change suggests that typically developing individuals may display autistic traits that vary in both the degree of severity and number [6]. These traits, known as the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP), have been examined in the relatives of individuals with ASD and in the general population [7,8,9]. In a continuum of severity of autistic traits in the general population, the BAP is generally considered to be a subclinical set of characteristics that is milder but qualitatively similar to the diagnosed autism phenotype [10, 11]
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