Reliability and Validity of the Abridged Chinese Version of Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child form in China

Objective To determine the reliability and validity of the abridged Chinese version of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ)-child form. Methods A total of 86 children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)were recruited from the West China Hospital from July 2014 to December 2016, along with 6 896 children recruited from three schools in Chengdu. The participants completed the AQ scale under instructions from a trained interviewer. Then 170 school children were selected and repeated the AQ scale within one month. Results All subscale scores were correlated with the scale score, but with weak inter-subscale correlations. The total AQ score of the control group was continuously distributed in the population, which was similar to the normal distribution. The skewness was -0.127 and the kurtosis was -0.124, indicating that the total AQ score was negatively skewed and slightly flat in the population.There were differences in AQ scores between different genders in community children (P<0.01), with male group (42.09±9.92) higher than female group (40.07±9.94).There was no gender difference in the ASD individuals. There was a correlation between age and AQ score (r=0.06).The autistic children had a higher AQ score (54.49±14.16) than the school children (41.12±9.98)(P<0.01). Similar results were found in the subscale scores, except for "attention to details". The AQ scale had a Cronbach α coefficient of 0.71:ranging from 0.21 to 0.69 for the subscales. The test-retest reliability was good for the scale and the subscales (all P>0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of AQ for screening ASD was both 0. 71. Conclusion The abridged Chinese version of the AQ-child scale has good psychometrics properties and may be a valid and reliable instrument for ASD screening with a cut-off score of 48.