Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)

► This is the first factor analytic study of the AQ using an ethnic Chinese sample in Taiwan. ► Results yielded a 35-item, 5-dimensional factor solution we named as AQ-Chinese. ► Psychometric properties of the AQ-Chinese outperformed existing factorial models. ► The AQ-Chinese demonstrated good fitt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in developmental disabilities 2013-01, Vol.34 (1), p.294-305
Main Authors: Lau, Winnie Yu-Pow, Gau, Susan Shur-Fen, Chiu, Yen-Nan, Wu, Yu-Yu, Chou, Wen-Jiun, Liu, Shih-Kai, Chou, Miao-Chun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology
Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology
Autism
Autism spectrum disorders
Autism Spectrum Quotient
Autistic children
Autistic Disorder - ethnology
Autistic Disorder - psychology
Autistic spectrum disorders
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child clinical studies
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - ethnology
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology
Children
Chinese
Clinical Diagnosis
Confirmatory factor analysis
Cultural Characteristics
Developmental disorders
Disability Identification
Factor Analysis
Factor Structure
Factor structures
Fathers - psychology
Female
Gender Differences
Humans
Infantile autism
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Parents
Parents - psychology
Personality Assessment - standards
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometric properties
Psychometrics
Psychometrics - methods
Psychometrics - standards
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reproducibility of Results
Scores
Screening Tests
Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
Taiwan
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Summary:► This is the first factor analytic study of the AQ using an ethnic Chinese sample in Taiwan. ► Results yielded a 35-item, 5-dimensional factor solution we named as AQ-Chinese. ► Psychometric properties of the AQ-Chinese outperformed existing factorial models. ► The AQ-Chinese demonstrated good fitting for a continuum of autistic expression. ► Manifestation of the autistic profiles was consistent across different cultures. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) has been widely used for measuring autistic characteristics in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Nonetheless, its psychometric validity is yet to be justified. This study tested the factor structure of the AQ by means of principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using, for the first time, data from 4192 Taiwanese parents (1208 with ASD children and 2984 with typically developing children). Results yielded a 35-item, 5-dimensional factor solution that had favorable psychometric characteristics (RMSEA=.054; NNFI=.962; CFI=.969) than any of the previously-published AQ factor solutions. Subscales of this new AQ-Chinese model were statistically and semantically coherent, namely: Socialness, Mindreading, Patterns, Attention to Details and Attention Switching. The psychometric properties of the AQ-Chinese did not change between clinic-based and community-based data suggesting good fitting for a continuum of autistic expression. Furthermore, the considerable overlap between the AQ-Chinese and the AQ factor structures derived previously using student samples indicated consistency in the manifestation of the autistic profile across different cultures and age groups. Group differences in the AQ-Chinese scores were in line with previous studies, i.e. males generally scored radically higher than females except in Attention to Details. Interestingly, mothers of ASD children reported lower total AQ scores than community mothers yet no significant group difference for the fathers. Important research and clinical implications pertinent to parents with children with ASD and the utility of the AQ were drawn.
ISSN:0891-4222
1873-3379
DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.08.005