title: Investigating diagnostic bias in autism spectrum conditions: An item response theory analysis of sex bias in the AQ-10.
abstract: Diagnostic bias is a concern in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) where prevalence and presentation differ by sex. To ensure that females with ASC are not under-identified, it is important that ASC screening tools do not systematically underestimate autistic traits in females relative to males. We evaluated whether the AQ-10, a brief screen for ASC recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in cases of suspected ASC, exhibits such a bias. Using an item response theory approach, we evaluated differential item functioning and differential test functioning. We found that although individual items showed some sex bias, these biases at times favored males and at other times favored females. Thus, at the level of test scores the item-level biases cancelled out to give an unbiased overall score. Results support the continued use of the AQ-10 sum score in its current form; however, suggest that caution should be exercised when interpreting responses to individual items. The nature of the item level biases could serve as a guide for future research into how ASC affects males and females differently. Autism Res 2017, 10: 790-800. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.|Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Aja Louise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Paula L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baron-Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Edinburgh, UK.|Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Auyeung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D063507:Sexism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AQ-10; autism; autism spectrum quotient; differential item functioning; differential test functioning; item response theory; screening; sex differences