Psychometric Studies of the Chinese Versions of the SRS, CAST, and AQ
Condition: Autism Spectrum Disorder
MeSH terms: Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Asperger Syndrome
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder with prominent
      reciprocal social and communication impairment and restricted repetitive behavior or
      interest. ASD is a highly heritable disease with tremendous impact on individuals, families,
      and society. In addition to the interview instruments, self-administered rating scales are
      commonly used in screening, assessment of symptoms' change, and evaluation of intervention
      effects. The Social Responsiveness Scale, the Childhood Asperger's Syndrome Test, and the
      Autism Spectrum Quotient are internationally widely used rating scales measuring autistic
      traits in both clinical and community samples in western counties. Establishment of
      internationally-recognized reliable and valid instruments is not only useful for clinical
      screening, but also helpful in future functional outcomes, neurocognitive, genetic and brain
      imaging studies.
    

Detailed description: 
      Specific Aims:

        1. To identify the factor structures and norms of the SRS, CAST, and AQ;

        2. To assess the concurrent validity of the SRS, CAST, and AQ;

        3. To assess the discriminative validity of the three scales by testing the difference of
           total scores and subscales scores of the SRS, CAST, and AQ between the ASD,
           attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and control groups;

        4. To correlate the autistic characteristics between parents and children and compare the
           magnitude of correlations of autistic traits across the 3 groups.

      This is a cross-sectional questionnaire survey in school-based and clinic-based samples. The
      participants include (1) ASD group: 200 cases with DSM-IV ASD; (2) ADHD group: 200 cases with
      DSM-IV ADHD; (3) Normally developing control group: a school-based sample of around 1200
      grade 1 to grade 8 students. 100 students randomly selected from school-based sample will be
      reassessed at a 2-week interval for the test-retest reliability study. The teachers will
      complete the SRS and SNAP-IV (for ADHD symptoms); parents will report on their children on
      the SCQ, SRS, CAST, SNAP-IV, and CBCL, and report themselves on the SRS, AQ, and ASRI;
      children will report on themselves using the SRS, AQ, SNAP-IV, and YSR. Parents of clinical
      participants will be interviewed by the ADI-R or K-SADS-E to confirm their diagnosis of ASD
      and ADHD, respectively.

      We expect that this study will reach the following objectives:

        1. To establish psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of SRS, CAST, and AQ for
           future use in clinical, school, and research settings;

        2. To obtain the preliminary information about the prevalence of ASD, and understand the
           correlation of autistic traits in family;

        3. To enhance the awareness of school teachers and counselors about ASD among students.
    

Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        The participants include (1) ASD group: 200 cases with DSM-IV ASD; (2) ADHD group: 200
        cases with DSM-IV ADHD; (3) Normally developing control group: a school-based sample of
        around 1200 grade 1 to grade 8 students.
      
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Social Responsiveness Scale; Childhood Asperger's Syndrome Test; Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient; psychometric