title: The influence of scale structure and sex on parental reports of children's social (pragmatic) communication symptoms.
abstract: The addition of social (pragmatic) communication disorder [S(P)CD] to the DSM-5 taxonomy has left clinicians and researchers searching for appropriate diagnostic measures. Factor analysis procedures examined the extent to which S(P)CD symptoms presented within the Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2) represented a unique construct and whether these factors were influenced by children's sex. Parents of 208 children (males = 125 and females = 83) from a community-based sample completed the CCC-2. Two pragmatic scores from the CCC-2 were analysed as follows: the social interaction difference index (SIDI) and a pragmatic composite from the original CCC (PC-5). Factor analysis failed to find a unique factor structure for either pragmatic composite. Analyses uncovered different factor structures for the CCC-2 SIDI and PC-5 composites and for boys and girls. S(P)CD represents a complex combination of symptoms that are poorly differentiated from other language and socioemotional behavioural difficulties.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Andrea C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ash
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.affiliation: b Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , James Madison University , Harrisonburg , VA , USA.
authors.forename: Geralyn R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Timler
authors.affiliation: c Salt Lake VA Health Care System and the Department of Population Health Sciences , University of Utah , Salt Lake City , UT , USA.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kean
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003147:Communication Disorders / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Assessment; factor analysis; language disorders; sex differences; social (pragmatic) communication disorder