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Assessing the Validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability

Brooks, Whitney T.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282075552

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Assessing autism spectrum disorders in adults is a challenging task, as ASD symptoms change over time and early developmental history may be unavailable for many adults. This study assessed the diagnostic validity of the Current version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), an autism rating scale, in a sample of adults with intellectual disability (ID). Participants included 52 individuals, aged 19 to 40 years (mean age = 28.6 years, SD = 6.0), who were recruited from agencies serving individuals with ID, a large university center for intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the Autism Society of Ohio. Parents and/or support staff completed the SCQ Current and SCQ Lifetime (when applicable) versions and measures of participants’ behavior and adaptive functioning. The SCQ Current version, as rated by support staff, yielded a sensitivity of .60 and a specificity of .81 at the cutoff score of 15 proposed by the authors. However, the optimal cutoff score in this sample was 12, which yielded a sensitivity of .80 and specificity of .65. Analyses were repeated in a subset of participants in the ID-only group with high and low level of behavioral problems, and comparable sensitivity and specificity values were found. Behavior problems did not appear to affect the discriminative validity of the SCQ Current in this sample. Although the SCQ Current version was not specifically designed to screen for ASDs in adults, it may be a useful tool for screening individuals whose early developmental history is unavailable. A lower cutoff score than the authors originally proposed is recommended for use in adults, which is consistent with research indicating that autism symptoms improve with age.
Betsey Benson, PhD (Advisor)
Steven Beck, PhD (Advisor)
Luc Lecavalier, PhD (Committee Member)
116 p.
Psychology
autism adults; ASD; social communication questionnaire; SCQ; autism screening; intellectual disability

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Brooks, W. T. (2010). Assessing the Validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282075552

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Brooks, Whitney. Assessing the Validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability. 2010. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282075552.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Brooks, Whitney. "Assessing the Validity of the Social Communication Questionnaire in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282075552

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.