title: Structural validation of the abridged autism spectrum quotient-short form in a clinical sample of people with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: The primary aim of this article was to provide a structural validation of the 28-item Autism Spectrum Quotient-Short Form questionnaire in a sample of adults with clinically diagnosed autism spectrum disorders (n = 148). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the proposed structure, comprising a second-order Social Skills factor subsuming first-order factors of Social Skills, Routine, Switching and Imagination, and a Numbers/Patterns factor showed good acceptable fit to the data (χ (2) = 464.27(345), p < .05; comparative fit index = .91; Tucker Lewis index = .90; root mean squared error of approximation = .048; weighted root mean square residual = 0.98). Summed mean scores for the total sample, and males and females separately, showed no significant differences to previously reported means, with the exception of Numbers/Patterns, for which the current sample reported significantly lower means in both males (t = 3.37, p < 0.001) and females (t = 2.33, p < 0.05). The results provide support for both the proposed structure of the AQ-S and the stability of total and subscale mean scores in different samples of participants with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses.
authors.affiliation: 1NHS Fife, UK.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuenssberg
authors.forename: Aja L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McKenzie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult