Abstract
The term “autism” was originally coined by Eugen Bleuler to describe one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Even if autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are now considered two distinct conditions, they share some clinical features. The present study aimed to investigate self-reported autistic traits in individuals with ASD, SSD, and non-clinical controls (NCC), using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a 50-item questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Psychiatry Unit of Policlinico “G. Rodolico”, Catania, Italy. The AQ was administered to 35 adults with ASD, 64 with SSD, and 198 NCC. Overall, our data showed that the ASD sample scored significantly higher than NCC. However, no significant differences were detected between individuals with ASD and SSD. Notably, the three groups scored similarly in the subscale “attention to detail”. AQ showed good accuracy in differentiating ASD from NCC (AUC = 0.84), while discriminant ability was poor in the clinical sample (AUC = 0.63). Finally, AQ did not correlate with clinician-rated ADOS-2 scores in the ASD sample. Our study confirms that symptoms are partially overlapping in adults with ASD and psychosis. Moreover, they raise concerns regarding the usefulness of AQ as a screening tool in clinical populations.
Highlights
The term “autism” was firstly introduced by Eugen Bleuler (1911) to describe one of the core features of schizophrenia
We recruited a total of 297 subjects, of which 35 had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 64 had an spectrum disorders (SSD), and 198 did not meet the criteria for any psychiatric disorder
Our study examined the differences in Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores between individuals in the autism spectrum, in the schizophrenia spectrum and individuals from the general population, as well as the accuracy of the AQ in discriminating between the different groups
Summary
The term “autism” was firstly introduced by Eugen Bleuler (1911) to describe one of the core features of schizophrenia. Several connotations were given to the term, until Leo Kanner (1943) described the neurodevelopmental disorder that is called “autism” [2]. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed in the presence of a persistent impairment in communication and reciprocal social interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. These symptoms usually occur during early childhood and cause significant impairments in everyday functioning. Prevalence estimates of ASD would range around 1.5% of the general population [7,8]
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