A closer look at the Autism Behavior Checklist: discriminant validity and factor structure.
The ABC total score is a valid autism screener, but its five printed subscales are statistical fiction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a factor analysis on the Autism Behavior Checklist. They wanted to see if the five printed subscales really hang together. Kids with autism, intellectual disability, and developmental delay took the 57-item checklist.
Statistical tests checked how well the total score separates autistic from non-autistic children.
What they found
The total ABC score correctly flagged 91 % of the children. A shorter three-factor model fit the data best. The five published subscales did not hold up.
How this fits with other research
McCarron et al. (2002) repeated the math and also found the original subscales weak. Their data gave five clean factors, not three, but both studies agree: ignore the printed subscales.
Lan et al. (2025) later showed the same checklist still works in Chinese clinics. They kept the total score and set a culture-specific cut-off, proving the 1991 result travels.
Parks (1983) warned that early autism scales lacked solid validity. Gerhardt et al. (1991) answered that call by giving the ABC its first strong evidence for discriminant validity.
Why it matters
Use the ABC total score when you need a quick screen. Do not waste time interpreting the five printed subscales—they are not real. If you practice with Chinese families, borrow Kunyi et al.’s cut-off to keep your screen accurate.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The psychometric properties of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC; Krug, Arick, & Almond, 1980a, 1980b), a 57-item screening checklist for autism was investigated. Professional Informants completed the ABC on 67 autistic and 56 mentally retarded and learning-disabled children. The autistic children were the total population of autistic children aged 6-15 in two circumscribed suburban and rural regions. Using the total score, the ABC accurately discriminated 91% of the children, with 87% of the autistic and 96% of the nonautistic group correctly classified. Moreover, the accuracy of classification was virtually identical when only the more heavily weighted checklist items were used. A 3-factor model accounted for 32% of the total variance in the checklist. Seventeen items loaded .4 or more on Factor 1, 12 items loaded on Factor 2, and 10 items loaded on Factor 3. The present results fail to provide empirical support for a single unidimensional scale for autism. Also, there is little support for subdividing the checklist into five subscales based on symptom areas.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1991 · doi:10.1007/BF02206875